Volunteers are on the home stretch to returning a B-29A Superfortress bomber to the skies at McConnell AFB, Kan., after its official rollout back in March. The aircraft, nicknamed Doc, was successfully fueled, exposing no major leaks, and is currently undergoing final preparations for system pressurization and engines runs, according to a release, Aug. 12. “Before the B-29 can be flown, Doc’s Friends must receive an airworthiness certificate from the FAA,” according to the group supporting the restoration. The group plans to request permission to conduct flight testing from McConnell, and base permanent flying operations from the civilian Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. Volunteers have installed the aircraft’s turbocharge casings, are finishing the customized exhaust system, and installing the required modern a?vionics, communications, and navigations systems required for flight. No firm date is set for Doc’s maiden flight, though the group hopes to fly before year’s end. Doc would join Fifi as the only flyable B-29s (Read about Doc’s restoration in Wingma?n Magazine.)
A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 suffered an engine failure flying over Africa in May 2023, forcing the drone’s pilot to down it in the ocean where it was not recovered, according to a new Air Force report. The cost of the mishap was more than $21 million.