Read that DOC was cerified. Photo Gallery: Restored B-29 Superfortress Rolls out of Wichita Hangar | Aviation Week I wonder what happened to the B-29 wreck that was sitting on the hillside south of the E/W runway at Kirtland AFB back in the 60's. Friend and I actually crawed through it. You drove by it on the way to the stables. Seemed like it was in not terrible shape, but, I was a kid then.
I was stationed there in 92-94' and never saw it while I "explored" that base. No telling what they did with it. Probably buried it like they did everything else then.
Meanwhile, I was pleasantly surprised to see this while attending the Barber Historic Races in Birmingham this weekend. "FIFI" was apparently in town offering tours at the Birmingham Airport. She made three counterclockwise circuits around the racetrack on Saturday morning and again on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning, only one circuit, clockwise this time. I really didn't have a long enough lens on my SLR, but this image is cropped from the full-size image. A lot of people noticed the aircraft, and most of them knew what it was. The rest ignored it completely. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Having flown in a B-24, B-25, B-17 in the past it was a treat to have a flight in FiFi when it was here at the 50th Anniversary. I rode in the the bomb aimer's position and watched the late Tom Cloyd wrestle the bird around. Quite a handful when it was dirty. A lot of people now pay no attention to any airplane, Jim. "It's just another one of those old airplanes."
There is another in the process of being restored here in Seattle. It belongs to the Museum of Flight, "T-Square 54". It made 37 missions in the Pacific. http://www.museumofflight.org/aircraft/boeing-b-29-superfortress https://user.xmission.com/~tmathews/b29/b29.html
Are they planning on restoring it to flying status or is she just going to be a static exhibit. The only potential flying B-29 that I know of other than Doc and FIFI is Bockscar at the USAF museum in Dayton, OH but it will never take to the sky.
I have been unable to determine what the ultimate plans are for this airplane, aside from a sympathetic restoration to display status. I suppose a direct inquiry to the MoF might yield an answer.
The MOF has a flyable B-17 but they won't fly it because it is an artifact. I would bet that T-Square-54 will never fly.
So we now have 2 flying B-29's... Not likely to increase, ever. KEEBIRD was flyable, but caught fire and burned on it's first TO roll. Remains are now at the bottom of a lake.
I think the B-17 the MOF has is that F model they were restoring when I worked there. Buzz Nelson flew it a little right after it was airworthy and then the Stratoliner not too long after that The ditching of it after it ran out of gas is probably what caused them to quit flying these "artifacts". Just a guess though.
I don't know if anyone knows the story behind that ditching. The crew that was flying the airplane were on a private excursion to improve their skills in the airplane. They purchased their own fuel for a fairly short flight. They had a landing gear extension issue on final to BFI and the ensuing effort to get the gear issue solved, they ran out of fuel. One of the secretaries in our group asked what happened and one of our guys said, " They got air in the fuel lines." Then, " My goodness, how could that happen?"
I did not realize we have an static B-29 at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, just northeast of Kirtland. It rests next to a B-47, B-52, F-16, F-105 and an A-7 Corsair. They have a facsimile of the Fat Man bomb next to the B-29. Pics taken last Saturday. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I wonder if that B-29 was built from the wrecked B-29 that was sitting South of the E-W runway at Kirland when I was a kid. We actually rode our bikes out and climbed through it. B-36's, B-47's and B-52's flew out of Kirland (our house was at the end of the N-S runway) when I was growing up there.
Sorry this is so long... guess that's a good thing. Here is a list of B-29 survivors to date from Wiki B-29 survivors Greenland Wrecks B-29 45-21768 Kee Bird – caught fire and burned after an attempted recovery. Currently sitting broken, on an ice shelf on the surface. Puerto Rico Wrecks B-29 42-65287 – in the ocean off the coast of Aquadilla, Puerto Rico, near the former Ramey AFB. South Korea On display B-29 45-21739 Unification Kia – indoors at the KAI Aerospace Museum in Sachon.[23] United Kingdom On display B-29A 44-61748 It's Hawg Wild – indoors at the American Air Museum, part of the Imperial War Museum Duxford. United States Airworthy B-29 44-69972 Doc – Doc's Friends in Wichita, Kansas. Received FAA Airworthiness Certificate May 20, 2016,[25][26][27] took first flight from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas on July 17, 2016 with takeoff at 8:59am CDT and landing at 9:04am CDT. Aircraft takeoff of 8:30am CDT was delayed for almost 30 minutes due to problem with forward bomb bay doors, problem rectified and first successful flight occurred. B-29A 44-62070 Fifi – Commemorative Air Force (B-24/B-29 Squadron) in Addison, Texas. This aircraft was used for the flight sequences in the film The Right Stuff.[28][29] Fifi was returned to airworthy status in August 2010 and flew for the first time since 2006.[30] On display (complete airframes) B-29 B-29 at the Barksdale Global Power Museum 42-65281 Miss America 62 – outdoors at the Travis AFB Heritage Center in Fairfield, California. 44-27297 Bockscar – indoors at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. 44-27343 (unnamed) – outdoors at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 44-70016 Sentimental Journey – indoors in Hangar 4 at the Pima Air and Space Museum adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.[34] Was featured briefly in the 1982 made-for-TV aviation adventure movie Deadly Encounter with Larry Hagman. 44-70113 Miss Marilyn Gay – outdoors at Dobbins ARB in Marietta, Georgia on display as Sweet Eloise. 44-84076 Lucky Lady – indoors at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Nebraska. 44-86292 Enola Gay – indoors at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. 44-86408 Hagarty's Hag – outdoors at the Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB in Ogden, Utah. 44-87627 (unnamed) – outdoors at the Barksdale Global Power Museum at Barksdale AFB in Shreveport, Louisiana. 44-87779 Legal Eagle II – outdoors at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum adjacent to Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, South Dakota. 45-21748 (unnamed) – outdoors at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History adjacent to Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico. B-29A B-29A 44-70064 Raz'n Hell at the Castle Air Museum, California 42-93967 City of Lansford, PA – outdoors at the Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park in Cordele, Georgia. 44-61535 Raz'n Hell – outdoors at the Castle Air Museum at the former Castle AFB in Atwater, California. It is actually a composite of three B-29s : 44-61535 – tail, 44-84084 – wings, 44-70064 fuselage. 44-61669 Flagship 500 – outdoors at March Field Air Museum at March ARB (former March AFB) in Riverside, California. 44-61671 The Great Artiste – originally modified to be an SB-29 "Super Dumbo", now marked to replicate the Silverplate airframe 44-27393, is on static display at the "Spirit Gate" of Whiteman AFB in Knob Noster, Missouri. 44-61975 Jack's Hack – on display indoors at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. 44-62022 Peachy – on display indoors at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in Pueblo, Colorado.[47] 44-62220 Joltin Josie – outdoors at the USAF History & Traditions Museum on the grounds of Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. B-29B 44-84053 (unnamed) – indoors at the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB in Warner Robins, Georgia. On display (partial airframes) B-29 42-65401 (nose section only) – Stockton Field Aviation Museum in Stockton, California. Privately owned by Nick Veronico. B-29A 44-61739 (nose section only) – Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB in Warner Robins, Georgia. 44-62139 (forward fuselage section only) – National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. Painted to represent Command Decision (s/n 44-87657) . Under restoration or in storage (complete airframes) B-29 44-69729 – under restoration at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. Recently removed from a protective cocoon, and now housed inside the Museum's new aviation pavilion. 44-70049 – in storage for Kermit Weeks at Borrego Springs, California. One of four B-29s obtained by Walt Disney Studios from the U.S. Navy at NAWS China Lake, California for use in the movie The Last Flight of Noah's Ark. 45-21787 Fertile Myrtle – in storage at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, Florida. This aircraft was used for the flight sequences in the Walt Disney Studios film, The Last Flight of Noah's Ark. Under restoration or in storage (partial airframes) B-29 42-24791 The Big Time Operator (nose section only) – currently in Maryland awaiting restoration for the QuestMasters Online Museum May 2014. previously in storage at the Edward F. Beale Museum at Beale AFB in Marysville, CA. 44-69957 (wreckage) – in storage at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California. Took a direct hit from weapons testing. The nose was used in the restoration of Doc.[58] 44-70102 Here's Hopin – in storage at the Naval Museum of Armament & Technology adjacent to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in Ridgecrest, California.[59] 44-84084 – in storage for Kermit Weeks at Borrego Springs, California. One of four B-29s obtained by Walt Disney Studios from the U.S. Navy at NAWS China Lake for use in the movie The Last Flight of Noah's Ark (see 44-70049 above for the other surviving example). Outer wings were installed on 44-61535; other two Disney B-29s were destroyed (44-62112 and 44-62222). B-29A 44-62134 – in storage at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California.[61] Wrecks B-29 45-21847 – ditched in Lake Mead near Las Vegas, Nevada in 1948 and discovered intact in 2002. TB-29 44-70039 – crashed on Bomber Glacier near Talkeetna, Alaska in 1957. Large pieces of wreckage still remain to this day. WB-29A 44-62214 – Submerged in a lake on Eielson AFB, south of Fairbanks, Alaska, where it was placed after being a "hangar queen" (1954) and having been cannibalized for parts. It was moved to its present location (possible between 1955-1956) and is believed to have been used for water ditching training exercises for aircrew members. 44-62214 is the first aircraft to detect a Soviet atomic detonation. It is not a wrecked aircraft inasmuch as it is an abandoned aircraft.
