FIFI ( aircraft ) FIFI , Boeing B - 29A - 60 - BN Superfortress , s / n 44 - 62070 , civil registration " N529B " , is one of only a few surviving in existence and the only one currently flying . It is owned by the Commemorative Air Force , currently based at Addison , Texas . " FIFI " tours the U . S . A . and Canada , taking part in air shows and offering flight experiences . History . Built by Boeing at the Renton factory in Washington , B - 29A serial number 44 - 62070 was delivered to the USAAF in Kansas in 1945 . Modified to a TB - 29A standard , it served as an administrative aircraft before being placed in " desert storage " . It was returned to active duty in 1953 . Following retirement in 1958 , Boeing B - 29A , s / n 44 - 62070 , as part of a group of 36 B - 29s , placed at the US Navy Naval Weapons Center and bombing range at China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station , at China Lake , California . The Commemorative Air Force , then known as the Confederate Air Force , acquired it in 1971 and registered it as a civilian aircraft . It was flown to CAF headquarters at Harlingen , Texas on 3 August 1971 and re - registered as N529B in August 1981 . Confederate Air Force / Commemorative Air Force . The CAF had been actively searching for a B - 29 for their use . Through Vic Agather they had an agreement that should one be found that was owned by the government but not in use , it would be turned over to the CAF . In 1971 , a CAF pilot in the National Guard reported sighting a number of what might be B - 29s on the California desert near China Lake . The CAF learned the aircraft were indeed Superfortresses that had been parked at a US Navy weapons center for 17 years . The aircraft had been used for gunnery targets and abused by heat , sand and vandals . After much negotiation ( the US Air Force owned the aircraft ; the Navy had to agree to release one ) , much paperwork and a painstaking search for the best survivor , the CAF became the owner of s / n 44 - 62070 , officially acquired title on 23 March 1971 , registering it as N4249 . A CAF maintenance team arrived at China Lake on 31 March 1971 and in only nine weeks , with the help of more CAF volunteers , they restored all systems and replaced fuel , oil and hydraulic hoses . The restoration process involved cannibalizing parts from other B - 29s at China Lake , installing instruments , having new window bubbles made and restoring controls to working order . After the CAF technicians ran the engines , tested propellers and landing gear , N4249 was made ready to fly again by 3 August 1971 . They had a permit to make a single ferry flight out of China Lake although once it landed , the B - 29 would be grounded . The ferry crew took on enough fuel to fly non - stop 1 , 250 miles to CAF Headquarters , then in Harlingen , Texas , lifted off at 7 : 48 a . m . and in a six - hour , 38 - minute flight , brought home the last flying B - 29 Superfortress without incident . The complete restoration to CAF standards of airworthiness was a long and expensive project involving more than three years of fund raising and hard work . Late in 1974 , the CAF ' s B - 29 was christened " FIFI " and joined the other WWII fighters and bombers to continue the CAF mandate " to preserve the memories and teach of lessons of mankind ' s greatest war . " Besides air displays , " FIFI " has appeared in films , including the " Enola Gay : The Men , The Mission , and the Atomic Bomb " ( 1980 ) and in the 1983 film " The Right Stuff " , standing in for the Bell X - 1 ' s " mothership " . Air show career . Throughout the years of air displays across the country , the CAF and the many volunteers kept " FIFI " in the air . In 2006 , however , following a series of engine problems , including engine failure occurring during an airshow , the B - 29 / B - 24 Squadron made the difficult decision to ground the aircraft until more reliable engines could be fitted . In a joint press release , dated 21 January 2008 , the Commemorative Air Force and the Cavanaugh Flight Museum announced a pledge of $ 1 . 2M USD to re - engine " Fifi " . Over the next three plus years , the original Wright R - 3350 - 57AM engines were exchanged for new engines built using parts from later model engines that powered the Douglas A - 1 Skyraider and Fairchild C - 119 Flying Boxcar during the Vietnam War , a custom built combination of the Wright R - 3350 - 95W and Wright R - 3350 - 26WD engines . After the $ 3 - million restoration project was completed , Fifi was flown for the first time in several years , on 5 August 2010 . In 2010 , " FIFI " was pronounced once again ready to perform at airshows , and " act " in feature films and documentaries throughout the Western Hemisphere . " FIFI " and " Ol ' 927 " are now based in Addison , Texas at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum , the facilities owned by Jim Cavanaugh , a major donor and supporter of " FIFI " . See also . List of surviving B - 29 Superfortresses