While I was waiting for some parts for the new bike, I visited the New England Air Museum to get some inspiration.
I met up with my friend Jason who works there, and he allowed me to see the inside of their B29.
There are very few of these amazing bombers left. In fact only one, named “Fifi”, is still flying today. A little history on the “Superfortress”:
The concept for this plane was, of course, a better bomber to help the WWII effort.
Requirements were more of everything: range, altitude, bomb-load and armament. Boing was given the task.
Its name is a result of its predesessor, the b-17 “Flying Fortress”,
first flown in 1938. By 1942, this monster was having the final touches put on it.
Here are some basic stats:
Length: 99 feet
Power: 4 Wright radials, each with 18 cylinders. Turbocharged, carburated. Each producing 2,200 horsepower.
Bomb-load: 20,000 pounds
defensive armament: 12 .50 caliber machine guns, some controlled remotely, 1 20mm cannon.
crew: 10 (pilot, copilot, navigator, engineer, bombardier, radio man, 3 gunners and gun commander)
Of the 2,766 that were produced, only 22 are preserved in museums.
Luckily for me the New England Air Museum is one of them. When I first saw it,
I was amazed by the sheer size of it. This is one huge plane!