![enola gay smoke grenades ca legal enola gay smoke grenades ca legal](https://www.replicaairguns.ca/images/products/large/RFIWPGBLK.jpg)
Agather said the CAF took in $45,000 to $50,000 for rides aboard Fifi at last weekend's annual Airsho here in Midland. Now, although she'll be flying at fewer events, Fifi can bring along nine paying passengers for a 30 minute ride ($995 to ride up front, $595 for a back seat) in addition to the six CAF crew members-including two whose sole job is to scan the wings and engines for smoke or fire. In the past, Fifi spent at least six months a year on the road, performing fly-bys at air shows and barely earning her keep through private donations and revenue from B-29 memorabilia sold by the CAF. Then there was the FAA: the CAF had to meet for weeks with the agency to discuss the reliability of the new engines, and questions surrounding passenger flights, before getting the final go ahead last month. A few weeks later, though, one of Fifi's replacement engines needed replacing. In early July, Fifi made its first flight in four years. Four years and more than $3 million later, Fifi was outfitted with four new engines and ready for a comeback.īy Memorial Day, the engine replacement was complete. In addition to coming up with designs for new engines that would still fit on the wing of the old bomber, the group wanted to retain the four-bladed propellers sported by the B-29's original Wright engines. He sported a "Fifi's Son" name tag at the annual confab here in Midland of the re-named Commemorative Air Force (members dropped "Confederate" in 2002 because some thought it hurt the group's image).
![enola gay smoke grenades ca legal enola gay smoke grenades ca legal](https://cdn.camouflage.ca/images/products/large/RFI10634_2_.jpg)
"It basically got to the point that every time we flew her, we'd have to do significant work on the engines and it was just costing too much to keep her airborne," said Neils Agather, son of the late Vic. repainted her in 1991-but was grounded in 2006 after metal pieces inside the plane's four radial engines began disintegrating. Fifi was patched up over the years-Boeing Co.
![enola gay smoke grenades ca legal enola gay smoke grenades ca legal](https://cdn.camouflage.ca/images/products/large/RFIWPGORG_2_.jpg)
Once Fifi was fully restored and approved for flights in the mid-1970s, she became a regular on the air-show circuit, keeping alive the public's fascination with the big, old bombers. Agather named the plane Fifi, after his wife, and financed a rudimentary desert restoration by the CAF.Īfter a battle with the military and the FAA to get a one-time flight permit (the government wanted to limit the number of people on the plane), Fifi was flown to Harlingen, Texas, where it underwent a more thorough revamp. Agather's behalf to a group of Texas war-bird enthusiasts called the Confederate Air Force. In 1971, a Dallas businessman and World War II Army Air Forces veteran named Vic Agather rescued the plane from the California desert and a date with the scrap yard. Plus, they are an extremely cost-effective alternative for training purposes (and have their own PALS-compatible LBE, too).Between flights, Fifi's crew poses for photos for passengers and journalists. While they’re not designed for, nor does Enola Gaye advocate for their use in, a real tactical environment, some Police Departments have been exploring their use for crowd control measures. You never know when the Hound will show up looking to eat every chicken in the tavern and you have to make a hasty exit.Īnd speaking of distraction, for all you LEO’ out there, Enola Gaye also has a flash grenade that is not an ATF controlled device available. Any part of the House Morningwood King’s Guard should certainly have a few on hand. If not used for concealing movement, they’d make for an excellent distraction. Not that I’m advocating one should EDC a smoke grenade, but I certainly see the potential for their inclusion in a “trunk kit”. That could very well apply in an active shooter scenario or similar Event. Of course, there are also those purposes for which they’re used by the military, and in the paintball and airsoft arena, i.e.