Official B-29 Doc Restoration Thread

[b29flteng]

http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbird-res ... -2016.html

[BK]

First Flight Sunday July 17!

http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbird-res ... 9-doc.html

[Zac Yates]

AWESOME!!!!

[b29driver]

I am rounding up the crew and we are heading to Wichita this morning.

We do engine run up and some taxi checks today.

DOC willing, we fly in the morning.

[APG85]

I've been watching/reading about this effort since the plane was first pulled from the desert. Good luck...can't wait to see the pictures...!

[markboss]

b29driver...
Good Luck, and have a safe flight!!!
GO DOC!

[Michel Lemieux]

Wow.....this is epic!!!!

How many years of blood sweat and tears has it been????

Good luck and congratulations to all involved through the years...

[JohnTerrell]

It has been 16 years of restoration work, but the whole recovery effort can be traced back to as early as 1987, when Tony Mazzolini's effort to recover a B-29 and restore it to flying condition began (this being the same year that Mazzolini first spotted "Doc"). The aircraft, which had been sitting in the desert of China Lake since 1956, was finally signed over to Mazzolini, eleven years later, in 1998, and it was pulled out of the desert and trucked to Wichita for restoration in 2000. When looking back, having followed the restoration effort all of these years, one of the things that stands out in my mind too is the time period of about 2009-2013, where so much had been accomplished up until that point (and these being the years just prior to "Doc's Friends" stepping in), where the partially completed "Doc" was forced out in the elements again, and restoration efforts seemed to languish with an uncertain future. It has been great to witness the perseverance, every step of the way, to get to this point.

Wishing the crew and all who have been part of the effort to rebuild "Doc" all the best for a very successful first flight!

[Jeremy S]

I am rounding up the crew and we are heading to Wichita this morning.

We do engine run up and some taxi checks today.

DOC willing, we fly in the morning.

Best wishes for a safe and successful first flight! Like many others, I will be glued to my PC first thing in the morning watching the vent online. I first found out about Doc in the early 2000s and have been following it online ever since. I'm really looking forward to seeing it in the air

[maxum96]

I've been watching/reading about this effort since the plane was first pulled from the desert. Good luck...can't wait to see the pictures...!

Pictures? I'm dying to see the video!

[Matt Gunsch]

First flight is delayed, Doc could not keep his mouth shut ( forward bombbay doors) they are trying to close them.

[WIXerGreg]

They came back around and got the bomb doors up. She's off! Congrats to all involved!

[dred]

Yeeeee Haaaaaa!!!!!!!

[Bearcat SA]

Amazing congratulations from Bearcat SA in South Africa

[K5DH]

And then, there were two! Congratulations to everyone who made this happen!