The airliner pilot who gets to fly World War Two's biggest bomber

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The airliner pilot who gets to fly World War Two's biggest bomber

10 hours ago
Stephen Dowling


(Credit: Scott Slocum)

The Commemorative Air Force in the US flies the only two airworthy Boeing B-29s, the most expensive weapon of World War Two. One pilot tells BBC Future what it feels like to fly them.

They are two of the most celebrated aircraft still flying today. The two Boeing B-29s flown by the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) in the US are the last airworthy examples of nearly 4,000 built in the mid-1940s, the largest bomber in the world at that time and a design which pushed aviation technology to the limit. ... The aircraft, nicked "Fifi" and "Doc" by the CAF, take part in airshows across the US during the summer, where aviation fans can pay to ride along in 30-minute-long demonstration flights.

The Boeing B-29 was the most advanced bomber in the world when it entered service in 1945: it was the first mass-produced aircraft to have pressurised compartments for the crew, and it could fly higher and further than any other aircraft thanks to its four enormous engines. These engines also helped it fly almost as fast as the fighter planes of the time. Designing and building it cost more than the atomic bombs that B-29s would eventually drop on Japan to end World War Two.

Bringing the B-29 into service was a colossal industrial project that at times overwhelmed Boeing. Its engines were powerful but temperamental, and keeping them in line required the full-time attention of a dedicated flight engineer, who kept a beady eye on engine temperatures to avoid the engines catching fire from overheating. Even getting a B-29 airborne for its mission over Japan required great effort in the humid air of tropical airfields. So, 80 years after the B-29 helped bring the world's most costly conflict to a close, what is it like to fly one now?

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