(click pic for hi-res)
Oshkosh 2011 saw the triumphant return of FIFI, the Commemorative Air Force's B-29, the only flyable B-29 in the world. As expected, she attracted a crowd the whole time she was on display. They also ran a lot of people thru the cockpit tour ($5 for kids, $10 for adults) which had you entering the airplane thru the bomb bay and then exiting out the bottom of the cockpit thru the nose gear well. I made the trip thru on the last day of OSH11, and of course it was an awesome experience. Everyone should do this when given the chance.
But a couple days earlier I got a little creative getting a cockpit picture from the outside of the airplane. With my camera on a pole (exercising extreme caution), I used a remote shutter release, a flip out live-view screen and a loaner extra-wide-angle lens from Canon (at 10mm, 16mm effective) to get this very cool view of FIFI's cockpit looking thru the left seat's open side window. The combination of the very wide angle and so much cool stuff to see inside made for a pretty cool pic. Be sure to click this CoolPix to see it fill your screen. I just made the switch to Canon cameras, and my T3i worked fantastic for its first time out.
FIFI is such an important part of remembering and honoring the courageous people who served in WWII... what a blessing to see her up close again!
Please help support the effort to keep FIFI flying.
Wide angle view of the CAF B-29 FIFI on the ramp at Oshkosh 2011