B-29 flight

[baldo]

This is fantastic.....

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/military-vehicle-news/yes-b-29-doc-first-flight.html

[Skinhead]

Nice!

[bentwrench]

Very nice,The Glen Curtiss museum in Hammondsport NY.Has an engine from a B-29.It is the most incredible monster of a triple layer radial engine you will ever see.

[old2soon]

Anybody know how much 115/145 she burns an hour at cruise? As an aside my 2nd ex F I L was a crew chief on 29s. He did NOT relate a lot of what he did. Anybody here remember seeing the Military Channel special some yeas back on the 29 they found near I believe the artic circle got engines and props rebuilt and when they fired up the aux gen set in the tail area it leaked fuel and the resulting fire destroyed the plane.    Looked and sounded-FANTASTIC-on take off and landing!  RIDE SAFE.

[hairyteeth]

My Dad's younger brother who still helps me farm, tells great stories of his time in the air force.
He was stationed in Fairbanks late 40's early 50's and worked as crew chief on #3 engines of B-29's flying long missions towards Russia. If I remember right they tore down the motor after each mission to check for wear and rebuild them as necessary. HT

[Patrick]

Great Airplane ! My father flew them during Korea. He always said it was leaps and bounds ahead of the others but could still be a hand full at times. I've not had the opportunity to ride in one yet, just a walk through.

[John Schmidt]

There is a nice write-up in the Feb. issue of the AOPA Pilot magazine. It's all about the restoration of Doc, a lot about the people involved over the years. One gal in her 90's actually did some of the original riveting back when it was first built. She was 20 at the time and riveted the nose. Now, 72 yrs. later only a half dozen rivets were missing. It took 15 yrs. and approx. 300,000 volunteer hours. The project director made a rule: If you're older than the airplane, you can't get on top of the wing. He said that only left a couple of guys to do work topside.

As to fuel, it burns 400 to 500 gallons/hour for takeoff and climb, 400 in cruise. It can go 300 mph but they have restricted that. The engine rpm are limited to 2400 to prevent the blade tips from going supersonic. Glad I don't have to pay the fuel bill. 

[wiggydotcom]

That was very cool to watch. I'm sure the pilot had an adrenalin rush as it lifted off the runway! 

[old2soon]

John-thanks for the fuel burn specs!   How would you have liked to have been the Air Force fuel logistics officer for those 29s that did the raids on the Japanese homeland? 100 29s to Japan and back not counting bombs crew clothing Machine gun ammo engine oil hydraulic fluid and the list goes on!   The supply train tail HAD too be a pure freakin nightmare of the highest magnitude!   Seen a few on static display but to have an Operational B-29? How freakin kewl is THAT??   RIDE SAFE.

[John Schmidt]

Dennis, when I first got to Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, SD, they still had one squadron of B-36's. Talk about a big plane....the ground shook when it taxied by our building. I got to work on them maybe three times, they were being phased out and replaced with 52's. Once I was working on a B-52 and was withing 100 yards of the runway when a 36 took off. HOLY COW!  The old saying of "six turnin' & four burnin'" went well with it, talk about rolling thunder. 

[baldo]

Thanks for the great stories about these massive planes....

Here's what she was like when found....

https://youtu.be/gnTJPTuGkMU