Thanks for posting syscom. I don't remember when the CAF got Fifi, but I want to say I first saw her in 1976 in Harlingen, Texas, though I may be wrong on the date. What a glorious plane.
Here in Dallas, there is a flight museum called the Cavenaugh Flight Musuem at the Addison airport. Jim Cavenaugh has pledged something like 2 million dollars to the rebuild of the engines on Fifi.
It's just staggering how much it cost to do work on these priceless birds.
"Success is not Final, Failure is not Fatal, it is the Courage to Continue that Counts"
Sir Winston Churchill
"To him the people of the world largely owe the Freedom and liberties they enjoy today"
Enscription on Hugh Dowding's (AOC Fighter Command 1936-40) statue in London
Last time I saw her she was polished aluminum. Also heard that an organization made a contribution to enable all new engines to be installed; hopefully will keep her in the air for some time to come.
TO
__________________
“Let's get Enterprise and Hornet turned into the wind."
Great bird and pictures syscom3, it was first grounded due to problems on the inside of the main wing if I remember right and now grounded due to shelling out all four engines. At a millon dollars an engine they are trying to raise the money to fix or replace all 4 engines though I have not heard how well things are going lately with her.
I've got pictures of me with FiFi when I was a kid. I don't remember it, but I sure as hell wish I did!
__________________ "I had ten rockets on board, and as I wasn't particularly fond of head-on attacks, I salvoed the whole lot at him. The rockets didn't hit him but but they must have scared the bejesus out of him, for he did a steep turn to starboard... I let him have the full blast, all eight fifty-calibers. I had never seen an aircraft completely disintegrate in the air the way this Me-110 did..."
Bill Dunn, 406th Fighter Group