CoolPix: Cockpit Of CAF B-29 FIFI Thru Side Window At OSH11
Thursday, August 4, 2011 at 08:17AM 
(click pic for hi-res)
Oshkosh 2011 saw the triumphant return of FIFI, the Commemorative Air Force's B-29, the only flyable B-29 in the world. As expected, she attracted a crowd the whole time she was on display. They also ran a lot of people thru the cockpit tour ($5 for kids, $10 for adults) which had you entering the airplane thru the bomb bay and then exiting out the bottom of the cockpit thru the nose gear well. I made the trip thru on the last day of OSH11, and of course it was an awesome experience. Everyone should do this when given the chance.
But a couple days earlier I got a little creative getting a cockpit picture from the outside of the airplane. With my camera on a pole (exercising extreme caution), I used a remote shutter release, a flip out live-view screen and a loaner extra-wide-angle lens from Canon (at 10mm, 16mm effective) to get this very cool view of FIFI's cockpit looking thru the left seat's open side window. The combination of the very wide angle and so much cool stuff to see inside made for a pretty cool pic. Be sure to click this CoolPix to see it fill your screen. I just made the switch to Canon cameras, and my T3i worked fantastic for its first time out.
FIFI is such an important part of remembering and honoring the courageous people who served in WWII... what a blessing to see her up close again!
Please help support the effort to keep FIFI flying.
Wide angle view of the CAF B-29 FIFI on the ramp at Oshkosh 2011
Reader Comments (2)
Hi Martt, Mike here. I got to help the Crew Chiefs the week before OSH, FiFi had spent the week at DPA. I was working the weekend (one of those days had 7 inches of rain) and they were able to get some flights in between showers.
One of the tasks, Dave asked how I was with a caulking gun: there were lots of towels on the outboard instrument panels, and F/E panel. Anyway please apply a thin layer around all the cockpit windows... somebody took a picture and another CAF guy sent the e-mail.
I also had fun working the F/E panel while they looked in each nacelle for fuel leaks, sort of warm up there on a sunny day.
I tell people that UAL puts beans on the table, but classic airplanes put a smile on my face.
Now I need to look up the verses in Matthew, sermon on the mount I think (grin)
g'day from Eglin.
Mike- That's a lot of windows to caulk! Thanx for sharing your experiences with FIFI : )