News

Friends of Doc to Share Plans for Flight

April 23, 2014 11:44am

Wichita, KS — April 23, 2014 – Jeff Turner, Friends of Doc Chairman, and Tony Mazzolini, CEO of USAM, will give an update on Doc’s restoration and share their plans for the first flight at the Wichita Aero Club May luncheon on Monday, May 12, 2014. The luncheon will take place at the Doubletree Hilton Wichita Airport. Tickets for the event are $30 for members and $40 for non members and can be purchased by visiting www.wichitaaeroclub.org or by calling 316-681-4471. Later in the day, there will also be a reception at the hangar that will give attendees the opportunity to see Doc and learn more about how to support the restoration efforts.
“This presentation by the Friends of Doc will provide the Aero Club with fascinating details about Doc’s history, the renovation process and the future plans for the B-29,” said Dave Franson, President of the Wichita Aero Club. “We are also excited to have to opportunity to see Doc and meet the team behind the restoration effort.”
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.
In 1987, after sitting more than 40 years in the Mojave Desert where it was a sun baked sanctuary for birds and many other desert creatures, Doc was rescued by a group of historians with a dream. The group, led by Tony Mazzolini and backed by the United States Aviation Museum, had a plan to restore the B-29 and eventually get it back into the air.
Following a nearly three year absence, volunteers have again revived Mazzolini’s dream.
The Wichita Aero Club was established in 2008 to foster and promote interest in aviation, provide a forum focused on the industry’s issues and achievements and bring together those with a passion for flight in an environment that expands and enhances professional relationships and furthers cooperation and understanding. The WAC luncheon will be held at noon in the Emerald Ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel by Hilton, and tickets can be purchased either online at www.wichitaaeroclub.org or by calling 316.681.4471.