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Warbird Airshow
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January 12, 2012The World's Only Flying B-29 Superfortress Coming to the Tico Warbird Airshow!
This just in! This Valiant Air Command is honored and excited to announce that the world's ONLY flying, WWII B-29 Superfortress FIFI will be at the 2012 Tico Warbird Airshow 9-11 March. The Commemorative Air Force maintains this unique aircraft in flying condition to honor the sacrifice of many thousands of men and women in uniform who have served our great country.FIFI will be available for "Living History" Ride Flights throughout the Airshow weekend. The public may purchase a seat on an in-the-air flight. You will sit in the seats occupied by our veterans, move around while in the air and experience the thrill of riding the world's only flying Superfortress. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a must for anyone's bucket list. For more information and ride times go to www.RideB29.com . The B-29 will be available for cockpit tours when not in operation.
In the 50's and 60's our government was doing little to preserve our aviation history. Many aircraft that fought valiantly to defend our freedoms were either cut up for scrap or allowed to wither away. The Commemorative Air Force stepped in with donations and volunteers and began collecting the priceless aviation assets of World War II. The group now boasts and largest collection of flying World War II aircraft.
In 1971, a forlorn batch of B-29s sat in general disarray in the Mojave Desert at the Navy's China Lake weapons test facility. Negotiations with the government completed, a CAF team selected the best-looking candidate for restoration and flew it to Harlingen, Texas, after a nine-week desert refurbishment. The CAF's efforts to fly an example of this pivotal technology required another three years of fundraising and restoration before its B-29 was finished and christened FIFI. Four decades later, after some ups and downs, the CAF's B-29 is still the only Superfortress flying in the world.
The B-29 was intended to eventually replace B-17s and B-24s. The larger Superfortress relied on remotely sighted gun turrets, huge, dual-supercharged R-3350 engines, and pressurization to enable long missions at altitudes as high as 40,000 feet.
Yet even as the B-29 was maturing during World War II, becoming the most sophisticated strategic bomber of it's time, its own demise was being assured with the arrival of the jet age. While survivable against World War II Japanese piston-engined fighters, B-29s proved vulnerable to North Korean MiG-15 jets in the 1950s. A brief few years of ascendancy, punctuated by their use as the only combat atomic bombers, marked the passing of the B-29.
So, mark your calendars and make sure to attend this very special 2012 Tico Warbird Airshow in honor and the Doolittle Raiders AND with the special appearance of the world's only flying B-29 Superfortress... FIFI.
For more information contact: 268-1941, or visit our website at www.vacwarbirds.org.
Colonel Terry Yon, USA (Ret)
Public Relations Officer
Valiant Air Command
Show conducted by TICO Warbird Airshow, Inc., for the Valiant Air Command Museum Fund and Aviation Scholarship Programs.
VAC Warbird AirShow Home Page
Festivals Directory
Valiant Air Command Museum website
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