PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The world’s only two flying examples of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress will be back this summer at EAA AirVenture.
The 72nd year of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s fly-in convention is July 21-27 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.
The two B-29s have made only about a half-dozen joint public appearances since first flying together at Oshkosh in 2017. Three of those appearances have taken place at EAA AirVenture, including in 2024.
“As AirVenture is the world’s largest annual gathering of warbirds, bringing these two iconic aircraft together is another of those ‘Only at Oshkosh’ moments,” said Rick Larsen, EAA’s vice president of communities and member programs, who coordinates AirVenture features and attractions. “These airplanes are big favorites wherever they appear separately, but together they will make the occasion even more unforgettable.”
As currently scheduled, each airplane will spend time featured on EAA’s Boeing Plaza. FIFI will be on display on July 21-23, while Doc will take centerstage for display on July 24-27. The airplanes are also scheduled to make a formation flight at the beginning of the July 23 night air show. When not on display at Boeing Plaza, flight experiences on Doc July 21-23 will be based at Appleton International Airport while FIFI will be in Appleton for flight experiences on July 24-27.
FIFI is owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force’s B-29/B-24 Squadron of Dallas, Texas. It was acquired by the CAF in the early 1970s when a group of CAF members found it at the U.S. Navy Proving Ground at China Lake, California, where it was being used as a missile target. The airplane was rescued and restored, then flew for over 30 years until 2006, when the chief pilot made the decision to ground it pending a complete power plant re-fit. After an extensive four-year restoration that included installing four new custom-built hybrid engines, FIFI returned to the sky in 2010 and has since traveled coast to coast.
Doc was built in 1944 and for many years was part of a squadron known as the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in upstate New York at Griffiss Air Force Base (hence, the name Doc). The airplane was retired in 1956 as the jet bomber age began and sat as a target for Navy training missions in China Lake, California, until 1998. A restoration group took possession of the airplane from the U.S. government and hauled it back to Wichita, Kansas, in pieces in 2000. After 16 years and more than 450,000 volunteer hours, Doc made its first flight after restoration in July 2016, 60 years after it had been retired. Doc is owned and operated by Doc’s Friends, Inc., a non-profit based in Wichita.
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