A 27-year-old airline pilot who didn’t even start lessons until he was 21 is now the youngest to fly the Commemorative Air Force’s B-29 Superfortress FIFI. According to Vintage Aviation News Alex Beckett recently passed his checkride in the hulking monument to Second World War air power. It was the latest in a series of checkouts in a highly concentrated aviation career so far. After earning his private certificate in 2019, he quickly got his commercial and instructor rating to amass the 1,500 hours needed to land him in the right seat of an E175. He moved to a 767 freighter for a time before joining a major airline as a right-seater in a 737, as an unprecedented period of frenzied hiring matched his determination and drive. But learning to fly FIFI was a different experience.
“You can’t just walk in and fly one. You have to respect the history, the aircraft, and the people who built and flew them,” Beckett told Vintage Aviation News. He earned that respect, and a ticket to the front office, with the same work ethic that got him his airline job. After paying for a ride in FIFI at an airshow, Beckett joined the CAF and spent hundreds of hours volunteering for the organization. “It was emotional and inspirational to sit in the B-29 and realize men my age during WWII flew missions in this airplane, and some didn’t come back,” he said. “These airplanes are national treasures.”
On his way to the B-29 flight deck, Beckett learned to fly the CAF’s R4D, the Navy’s designation for a DC-3, and was part of the crew for a trans-Atlantic crossing in the historic transport. He also logged a lot of time in a Stearman. As impressive as the B-29 is, it’s also just an airplane, albeit a complex one. “Flying the B-29 is unlike anything I’ve ever flown. The takeoffs, landings, and systems management are incredibly complex, but once you get it airborne, it flies like a Boeing.”
Ironically, at a very large EAA Chapter Christmas party last week, I was looking for a free chair to sit down. Seeing an empty chair next to an elderly gentleman, I asked if I could sit down. After sitting down, we struck up a conversation. I started telling him about some of my escapades during my USAF career when he blurts out that he was a B-29 pilot in WWII and went on to fly in combat in the Pacific. That’s good enough … but it gets better. He tells me he flew them when he was 18 years old (sic). Further, he tells me he actually later flew ‘Doc.’
Reading this story, I decided to google the subject and — sure enough — it was said that there were 2,576 ‘Sergeant PIlots’ who were trained during WWII. In 1942, in an effort to train more pilots more quickly, the Flying Sergeant program was unveiled. Flying Sergeant candidates needed only to be 18 years old and have a high school diploma. After finishing training, they were promoted to Flight Officers (similar to Warrant Officers today). Among these, Chuck Yeager. HE flew in the 357th Fighter in England before being promoted to 2nd Lt.
See? Some of the kids are alright. 🙂