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B-29 "FiFi" getting some TLC between shows


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Passing on my good fortune of living in the same area where FiFi is based.

AS you can see, maintenance was in progress, so the a/c was chained off, and the back half of it was pretty much impossible to photograph from outside the chains, but these are what I managed to get:

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Nice detail pictures! Thanks for sharing them.

When I was in school working on my aircraft mech license, I remember one of the instructors saying when it comes to servicing big radials, its check the gas and fill the oil.

The fact that the engines are individually named probably says something about their temperamental nature.

Although the R3350 seemed to be a very reliable engine later in life (such as when it powered the A1 Skyraider), during WWII those engines were a huge problem in the B-29s. Of course, they ran those Superforts very hard with heavy bomb loads, hot weather and high sortie rates. Fifi seems to live the life of pampered luxury in comparison.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_R-3350

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The engine's in FiFi are quite unique (and probably the reason they're named). The original 3350's for the B-29 were always problematic, so with the latest grounding they (CAF) acquired -95W's (from AC-119's) but the supercharger didn't fit so they replaced the supercharger with one from a -26WD (Skyraider). Much more reliable now and are capable of around 1000 HP more than the originals. (Source is the 8/11 issue of Sport Aviation)

HTH

Spongebob

Edited by Spongebob
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Always glad to share. Bam, I've got plenty of photos of their collection I've taken over the last 3-4 years since I upgraded my camera, just need get around to organizing and posting them. Ironically, now that I'm overseas again, I have more time for just that. Almost always way too busy when I'm stateside to post.

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