The Pentagon recently approved the ground testing and eventual first flight for a restored World War II-era B-29 Superfortress, called “Doc,” from a non-joint-use runway at McConnell AFB, Kan. The B-29 received an airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration earlier in June, meaning “first flight for Doc is imminent,” said Jim Murphy, the restoration project manager for Doc’s Friends, in a news release. The approval now lets the flight crew schedule high-speed taxi testing and eventually takeoffs and landings, according to the release. Volunteers have been working on restoring the B-29 for 16 years are now a “few final steps away” from flight, Murphy said. (Read more about Doc’s restoration in Wingman Magazine.)
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
