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Restored B-29 Superfortress Rolls out of Wichita Hangar

Mar 23, 2015

Molly McMillin | The Weekly Of Business Aviation

Pulling out "Doc" B-29 Superfortress

The B-29 bomber is rolled out of a Boeing Wichita hangar, nearing the end of a restoration project to return the Superfortress to flying condition. About 200 volunteers and supporters attended the rollout ceremony commemorating the 15-year restoration project to restore the historic 1945 aircraft known as “Doc.” The plane was found in 1987 in a California desert where it had become a sanctuary for birds and other creatures for 40 years. The aircraft was rescued and arrived in Wichita for restoration in 2000. The project hit a long snag due to a poor economy and lack of hangar space. It resumed after a group of Wichita business leaders and aviation enthusiasts formed a nonprofit group called Doc’s Friends.The plane will be restored to flying condition. It is expected to fly later in 2015.

A B-29 Superfortress known as “Doc” rolled out of a former Boeing Wichita hangar on March 23, 2015, following 15 years and 300,000 hours of work by scores of volunteers.

The bomber, built by Boeing in Wichita in 1945, had been parked in the California Mojave desert for 42 years. The aircraft was discovered in 1987 and, in 2000, was trucked to Wichita where restoration began. The project went through a hiatus, the victim of a poor economy and lack of hangar space, when a group of Wichita business leaders and aviation enthusiasts formed a nonprofit group called Doc’s Friends and restarted the restoration. Boeing donated the hangar space.

The plan is to restore the aircraft to flying condition, and it will be one of only two to be flyable. Doc is expected to fly in the next couple of months. The next step is to secure a permanent home in Wichita for the aircraft and to operate the B-29 as a flying museum. Organizers estimate it will take another $7 million to $9 million to finish restoration and secure permanent hangar space.