Yesterday’s Historic Flight Of B-29 DOC, But Everything Didn’t Go As Planned

After 15 Years Of Restoration, There Was Just One Minor Hiccup.

On Sunday, July 17th, 2016, World War II fanatics got what they were looking forward to for 15 years. As there is (well, was) only one airworthy B-29 in the world named FIFI for some time now, on that day, the moment DOC’s wheels left the tarmac, we officially now have two airworthy Superfortresses in the world.

DOC is a volunteer based project that goes back some 60 years. You can read about her whole journey HERE, but we’ll give you a quick synopsis. She was found in the desert after being used for target practice, and over the next decades of legal battles, finally acquired by what is now Doc’s Friends. After millions in donations and countless hours of volunteer work, she is now airborne.

The fix lasted no more than ten minutes though!

Last Sunday we posted the live streaming of her takeoff ceremony, and over 60,000 of you logged in to see it. For that, we sincerely thank you. Now only are you supporting us, but your likes, shares and comments helped in spreading the knowledge about this event.

The live stream we provided was a bit uneventful for a while, and right as DOC was getting ready for takeoff the crew realized the bomb bay doors were jammed. She had to taxi back in and get it looked at, but the veteran crew fixed it on the spot. Many of you actually stayed with us throughout the process and watched her soar.

For those of you who haven’t, and also for those who want a cleaner version with cockpit views, check out this video. It was edited by DOCs friends and as you may expect, the video came out as good as the restoration.