Fifi is the last of her kind. She is the last flying B-29 Superfortress, the same model of airplane that dropped the atomic bombs on Japan to end WW2. The plane’s iconic windows at the bombardier’s seat inspired George Lucas’s design of the Millennium Falcon.
Fifi was rescued and rebuilt by the Commemorative Air Force who uses the plane as a flying museum to teach people about WW2 military aircraft.
Filming Fifi in 360-degree video was a dream assignment for USA Today’s virtual reality show Virtually There which I helped launch in 2017. I got to be her only passenger, outside of the usual flight crew, from Phoenix to Ventura. I had full run of the plane from the cockpit to the tail gunner’s position. It’s experiences like this that make being a photojournalist one of the best jobs in the world.