Rare B-29 flies into city for visit
One of two still in operation, U.S. bomber was A technological marvel in its era
Slightly more than 73 years ago, the roar of an American B-29 “Superfortress” bomber approaching overhead would have sent people scurrying for cover, but Monday the sight of the majestic silver warplane had the curious public peeking through fences at Windsor Airport. The visiting B-29, nicknamed Fifi, is one of only two airworthy models left from a production run that produced nearly 4,000 of the heavy bombers.
“I truly get goose bumps every time I get to fly in it,” said Phil Pedron, flight engineer for the sixperson crew and tour leader. “It’s a piece of history.”
The plane is part of the Texasbased Commemorative Air Force collection, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historical aircraft. For seven months a year, Fifi tours North America, making about 70 stops annually to support likeminded historical aircraft associations.
The plane will be in Windsor until Sunday afternoon and will be open to the public for daily viewing from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. beginning Wednesday.
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children (10-17) and free for those under 10. A family pass is $40. For between US$595 and $1,695 you can also book a flight on the aircraft at airpowertour.org. The visit is part of a fundraising week for the local chapter of the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association, which also includes a steak barbecue and a viewing of the aircraft Friday to aid the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.
“It (B-29s) truly ended World War Two,” Pedron said.
“It was B -29s (Enola Gay, Bockscar) that dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not that that’s something to take pride in, to help end the war.” The B-29 was the most expensive weapons system the U.S. developed during the war, even eclipsing the Manhattan Project that created the atomic bomb, at a cost of US$3 billion.
It was the first bomber to have a pressurized cabin and remotecontrolled gun turrets. It was the heaviest aircraft of the war with a range of 5,830 miles and had the ability to fly higher (32,000 feet) and faster (365 mph) than most Japanese fighter aircraft.
The prop plane has four engines delivering 2,200 horsepower each, giving the aircraft the capacity to deliver 20,000 pounds of bombs.
Ron Holden, chief pilot of the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association in Windsor, was eager to get his first chance to get inside the aircraft. Still flying and teaching at 86 years of age, Holden flew Argus C-107 long-range patrol aircraft for the Canadian Air Force after the Second World War.
“It was a technological marvel in its day,” Holden said.
Fifi, which rolled off the assembly line two weeks before the Japanese surrendered, never saw action in the Pacific theatre the aircraft was used in.
Instead, Fifi served as a trainer and later a target at the U.S. Navy’s China Lake weapons testing ground in California’s Mojave Desert.
“They were developing their guided missile program, but it never got used as a target,” Pedron said. After the founding of the Commemorative Air Force in 1961, the group began the hunt for a B-29. The group was told by the U.S. military there were no salvageable fuselages remaining. However, a CAF member spotted the discarded plane in the desert during a flight in the area and, after some prolonged negotiations, the group secured Fifi. It’s been flying around North America since 1974 with this being the aircraft’s second visit to Canada.
On this trip, one of Fifi’s two pilots is Jeff Skiles.
Skiles was the co-pilot of the Miracle on the Hudson US Airways jet that landed in New York’s Hudson River in January 2009. The event inspired the film Sully.
“It’s noisy and the pilots tell me it’s like flying a pickup truck,” Pedron said. “It’s an arm-strong airplane. Everything is mechanical.” Pedron said the plane, which flew in from London, is touring Canadian cities this summer. Next week it’ll be up in Hamilton as part of a fundraiser.
“The reception we’ve gotten in Canada has been amazing,” Pedron said. “The folks that flew these during the war are in their early 90s. For some, they haven’t seen one since then.
“For them to see and touch a B-29 again has been amazing to watch.”
It’s noisy and the pilots tell me it’s like flying a pickup truck. It’s an arm-strong airplane. Everything is mechanical.