Meet DOC - Hoosier Aviation hosts warbird rides promising experience of lifetime

Sunday, September 27, 2020
Times Reporter IVY JACOBS

The B-29 Doc Flight Experience Tour at Terre Haute Regional Airport was hosted by Hoosier Aviation. The promise to experience a piece of history, to hear and see the sights and sounds of engine before takeoff and experience flight at 8,000 feet. Up where Air Force veterans once sat as they fought in World War II and Korea. Of the 3,970 B29s built, 26 survive in complete form today, 24 of which reside in the United States, and two of which are airworthy, including DOC. One of the most technologically advanced airplanes of World War II, the B-29 had many new features, including guns that could be fired by remote control. Two crew areas, fore and aft, were pressurized and connected by a long tube over the bomb bays, allowing crew members to crawl between them during up to 15-hour flights. The tail gunner had a separate pressurized area that could only be entered or left at altitudes that did not require pressurization. B-29s were primarily used in the Pacific theater during World War II, two of the most famous being Enola Gay and Bockscar, that dropped atomic bombs on Tokyo. The B-29 saw military service again in Korea 1950-1953, battling jet fighters and electronic weapons. The last B-29 in squadron use retired from service in September 1960. Doc’s Friends is on a mission to HONOR the men and women who sacrificed so much for the freedom of others, including those who designed, built, maintained and flew the B-29 during and after WWII. CONNECT people with the rich heritage of the B-29 and allow aviation enthusiasts to experience the thrill of a B-29 up close. EDUCATE today’s and future generations on the contributions of the Greatest Generation during wartime. Enjoy these photos taken by Times Reporter IVY JACOBS, and an upcoming story about this event.