My friend (on left)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/b29doc/8529121840Has been working on this basically since Tony brought it back from the lake.
To call it a restoration is polite. It is an almost new airplane with a few used parts from the original airplane. They did things like build a new main wing spar because of corrosion and rebuilt the wing around it using what parts were still viable. Was interesting some of the ladies that worked on the remanufacture would be talking about who put a specific rivet in by looking at the profile before drilling them out to replace. They would show you an area that they did in the 40's and could tell you who (many long dead) did other areas just by inspection.
Basically the original engines leaked oil badly. Lots of engine fires. FAA basically told CAF in 2006 that they were going to pull the airworthness cert on FIFI unless they fixed the problem which lead to the reengine of it and return to flight in 2010.
I was working at the CAF show in 76 when Paul Tibbets flew fifi in the simulated Hiroshima bomb run. There was word on Saturday that the Japanese contingent present was not happy about it, and crop dusters from Mercedes were not PC they were Confederate. It was scheduled again on Sunday and after some political pressure to not perform it because the dignitaries presence, they decided if once was good, twice would be better. Of course this was just a few months after being asked to participate in the 1976 200th anniversary in DC with scheduled fly overs on the mall, and then being told on arrival that their safety is not guaranteed if the wore their flight suits with the confederate flags.
So things are now Commemorative, anything Confederate is banished around the country, and Obama in Hiroshima.
Things change.
