From: Jean schoefs
Subject: There Are About To Be Two Airworthy B-29s
In May of 2000, the B-29 known as "Doc" was rescued and transported from California to Wichita. - Doc's story began in March of 1945 at the Boeing plant in Wichita, Kansas. Originally built by the Boeing Company in 1945, the B-29-20-BW, or B-29 Superfortress, was a one-of-a-kind airplane. The B-29 was designed and built by Boeing in Wichita and flown primarily by the U.S. Air Force at the end of World War II and then during the Korean War.
Plans to restore the plane were hatched back in 1987 when the B-29 was found to have survived its afterlife as a practice target, largely intact. Doc has been under restoration in Wichita, Kansas since 2000, and thanks to the work of volunteers, machinists, mechanics, and veterans, "Doc" is being prepped to fly once again this spring.
Two video productions featuring the iconic Boeing B-29 Superfortress, FIFI, and other aircraft maintained and operated by the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), recently won big video awards for 2013. "If These Planes Could Talk" was the recipient of the 'Silver Telly' Award. - WXIA TV in Atlanta was presented an Emmy for a news feature about a WWII veteran and the B-29. Scott Edge with Skygate Studios was commissioned by the Commemorative Air Force B-29/B-24 Squadron to document their first annual CAF Dallas AirPower History Expo in October of 2013. The Telly award-winning video tells the story of the CAF and its mission to keep their over 150 vintage military airplanes flying in order to tell the story of the brave men and women who designed, built and flew them during World War II. With nearly 12,000 video entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, this is truly an honor. The Telly Awards, founded in 1978, honors the very best in film and video productions.
"If These Planes Could Talk"
WXIA TV in Atlanta, Georgia received a regional Emmy in the Television News Gathering Excellence, general assignment category for the news story "Unusual Sendoff for WWII Veteran." - The story, reported by multimedia journalist Steve Flood and WXIA reporter Jaye Watson, was the account of a funeral flyover performed in May of 2013 for former B-29 navigator Robert Kruer. - Robert Kruer's family visited the B-29 at its CAF AirPower History Tour stop in Atlanta last May just two days before Kruer's funeral service. The B-29 crew was able to coordinate a flyover honoring the World War II Veteran. The news video includes footage from inside the aircraft during the flyover as well as the reaction of those on the ground.
Unusual Sendoff for WWII Veteran
Doc's Friends Restoration Video
Scrounging parts for Doc the B29
B-29 Superfortress 'Doc' restoration
3,970 B-29s were built, and "Doc" was built in 1946 — too late to be put into service during WWII. However, it did serve in Korea, and also with the Strategic Air Command until the B-52 came along. The two B-29s that dropped atomic bombs are housed in museums, and could probably be restored to flyable condition, buy why?. "Enola Gay," which dropped the Little Boy bomb on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945 is at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy branch of the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Dulles, Virginia. "Bockscar," which dropped the Fat Man bomb on Nagasaki, August 9, 1946 is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.
As it stands today, Doc is scheduled to appear at AirVenture 2015 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, along with Fifi. Doc's restoration project manager, T.J. Norman told the Wichita Eagle, "It's the first time in 60 years that two B-29s have been able to fly in formation together." Doc is the last known B-29 airframe thought to be in a condition good enough to be restored to flight-worthy status. In March, a ceremonial roll-out is planned, which will be followed by engine run-up and taxi tests. Doc is expected to finally fly again in April or May.
B-29 Superfortress "Fifi"
