They are retired airline pilots, retired military, all have multiengine experience. “There are maybe a dozen and a half right-seaters, copilots. We primarily use three or four of ,” Wells explained. “There are nine left-seat certified pilots in the world on a B-29, and just two B-29s flying today. He noted that Doc could not be flying were it not for hundreds of thousands of hours of volunteer labor, including that of the flight crews. Wells is also the executive director of Doc’s Friends. They are known as scanners their job is to keep the passengers safe and keep an eye on the engines, which are located aft of the cockpit and out of the pilot’s view. In the rear of the aircraft-in the compartment separated by a 41-foot tunnel-were crew members Brett Schauf and Josh Wells. Without those volunteers, those heroes, there isn’t an aircraft.” Josh Wells, executive director, Doc’s Friendsįor the first flight in Seattle, Mark Novak was the pilot in command, assisted by co-pilot Ken Newell, and flight engineer Don Obreiter. “It took 16 years and 450,000 volunteer hours in Wichita, Kansas, to take the airplane apart and put it back together. Seating is very limited as passengers occupy the same seats that were once used by crew members of the B-29, which was designed for a crew of 10. They are not cheap or easy to get-the Museum of Flight rides had sold out before the Superfortress had even touched down at King County International/Boeing Field (KBFI) in Seattle this week. The aircraft is on tour, offering rides for a price. Doc is one of 1,644 built at Boeing’s plant in Wichita. A total of 3,970 Boeing B-29 Superfortresses were built during World War II. a nonprofit organization based in Wichita, Kansas. “Wolf gets to fly aboard Doc…” About the Aircraftĭoc is owned by Doc’s Friends, Inc. And I nearly had kittens when I made the call to the edit team to relay the news: I was part of a media flight staged out of the Museum of Flight in Seattle where Doc paid a house call. Recently, I had the opportunity to fly aboard this rare machine. One of the best parts of being an aviation journalist is that it gives you access to some pretty unique and special aircraft-such as Doc, one of the last airworthy B-29s in the world.
0 kommentar(er)
