Hanger Tails(Tales) ~ Flying/Aviation

Howard Hughes’ Boeing 307 Stratoliner Houseboat Conversion Finds New Home​

Alas, just the fuselage here.

However;

The First Pressurized Commercial Aircraft: The Story Of The Boeing 307 Stratoliner​

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Showing up shortly after Boeing's 307 was the Curtiss CW-20, a.k.a. C-46 Commando.
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The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurised high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the Commando name was in use by early 1942 in company publicity.[2] It was used primarily as a cargo aircraft during World War II, with fold-down seating for military transport and some use in delivering paratroops. Mainly deployed by the United States Army Air Forces, it also served the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps, which called it R5C. The C-46 filled similar roles as its Douglas-built counterpart, the C-47 Skytrain, with some 3,200 C-46s produced to approximately 10,200 C-47s.

After World War II, a few surplus C-46 aircraft were briefly used in their original role as passenger airliners but the glut of surplus C-47s dominated the marketplace and the C-46 was soon relegated to cargo duty. The type continued in U.S. Air Force service in a secondary role until 1968. The C-46 continues in operation as a rugged cargo transport for arctic and remote locations with its service life extended into the 21st century.[3]
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Several still exist, including a couple airworthy it seems;
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Nearly 4,000 Boeing B-29 superfortress bombers were built. About 22 survive and only two are airworthy = flyable.
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Twenty-two B-29s are preserved at various museums worldwide, including two flying examples; FIFI, which belongs to the Commemorative Air Force, and Doc, which belongs to Doc's Friends. Doc made its first flight in 60 years from Wichita, Kansas, on 17 July 2016.[90] There are also four complete airframes either in storage or under restoration, eight partial airframes in storage or under restoration, and four known wreck sites.[citation needed]

Three of the Silverplate B-29s modified to drop nuclear bombs survive. The Enola Gay (nose number 82), which dropped the first atomic bomb, was fully restored and placed on display at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air & Space Museum near Washington Dulles International Airport in 2003. The B-29 that dropped Fat Man on Nagasaki, Bockscar (nose number 77), is restored and on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. The third is the 15th Silverplate to be delivered, on the last day of the war in the Pacific. It is on display at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico, posed with a replica of the Mark-3 "Fat Man" nuclear bomb.

B-29 'It's Hawg wild' at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford
Only two of the 22 museum aircraft are outside the United States: It's Hawg Wild at the Imperial War Museum Duxford and another at the KAI Aerospace Museum in Sachon, South Korea.[91]

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Those two flyable B-29 will meet and be together at

A B-29 reunion announced for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024​

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — (April 4, 2024) — Superfortresses ‘Doc’ and ‘FIFI’ to make rare joint appearance. The world’s only two flying examples of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress will make a rare joint appearance this summer during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024, supporting the “Turning the Tide” salute to 1944 and the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The 71st edition of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s fly-in convention is July 22-28 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.It is believed to be only the fourth time two B-29s have made a joint public appearance in 50 years, with the first taking place in Oshkosh in 2017. It is the first time these aircraft have appeared together since 2018.

“As AirVenture is the world’s largest annual gathering of warbirds, bringing these two iconic aircraft together is another of those ‘Only at Oshkosh’ moments,” said Rick Larsen, EAA’s vice president of communities and member programs, who coordinates AirVenture features and attractions. “These airplanes are big favorites wherever they appear, but together they will make the ‘Turning the Tide’ commemoration even more unforgettable.”

As currently scheduled, each airplane will spend time featured on EAA’s Boeing Plaza. FIFI will be on display on July 22-24, while Doc will take centerstage for display on July 25-28. The airplanes are also scheduled to make a formation flight at the beginning of the July 24 night air show. When not on display at Boeing Plaza, flight experiences on Doc July 22-25 will be based at Appleton International Airport, approximately 20 miles north.

FIFI is owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force’s B-29/B-24 Squadron of Dallas, Texas. It was acquired by the CAF in the early 1970s when a group of CAF members found it at the U.S. Navy Proving Ground at China Lake, California, where it was being used as a missile target. The airplane was rescued and restored, then flew for over 30 years until 2006, when the chief pilot made the decision to ground it pending a complete power plant re-fit. After an extensive four-year restoration that included installing four new custom-built hybrid engines, FIFI returned to the sky in 2010 and has since traveled coast to coast. More information is available on at the CAF’s AirPower History Tour website.

Doc was built in 1944 and for many years was part of a squadron known as the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in upstate New York at Griffiss Air Force Base (hence, the name Doc). The airplane was retired in 1956 as the jet bomber age began and sat as a target for Navy training missions in China Lake, California, until 1998. A restoration group took possession of the airplane from the U.S. government and hauled it back to Wichita, Kansas, in pieces in 2000. After 16 years and more than 450,000 volunteer hours, Doc made its first flight after restoration in July 2016, 60 years after it had been retired. Flight experience information for Doc at Oshkosh is available at Take a Ride of a Lifetime - B-29 Doc. Doc is owned and operated by Doc’s Friends, Inc., a non-profit based in Wichita.
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