Would Become The Second Airworthy Example Of The Iconic Bomber

A group in Wichita, KS working to restore the B-29 bomber "Doc" to airworthy condition has an ambitious goal ... fly the airplane to Oshkosh for the 2014 edition of AirVenture.

J.T. Norman, the project's volunteer coordinator told the Wichita Eagle that he's not making any promises, but "I think it's doable. I can't promise we'll make it, but we're sure going to try."

The restoration project was undertaken in 2000, but was put on hold for a few years due to the poor economy and lack of hangar space to work on the massive airplane. The effort re-started early in 2013 after a group formed a non-profit organization dubbed "Doc's Friends" and acquired the airplane.

Boeing donated a military hangar for the effort, and a core group of about 30 volunteers have been working on the airplane.

The previous owner, Tony Mazzolini, had found the B-29 in a boneyard in California's Mojave Desert in 1998 where it had rested for 42 years. It was taken by truck to Wichita in 2000.

So far, volunteers have replaced every bit of the wiring, cabling, all the pulleys for control surfaces, wing spars, and many skin panels that had corroded in the desert. Four later editions of the Wright Cyclone engines that originally powered Doc were acquired and are being installed.

The ultimate goal of the group is to have Doc on permanent display in Wichita and operate it as a flying museum. But it needs to live inside when it's not flying. "A hailstorm would be catastrophic," said Spirit AeroSystems CEO Jeff Turner, who is also chair of the Don's Friends board. "Keeping it inside in Kansas is a really, really, really good idea."

But because the plane was built in Wichita and being restored in Wichita, the city should be Doc's permanent home, he said.

FMI: http://b-29doc.com/