WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A group of volunteers that has been restoring a B-29 Superfortress for more than a decade says the bomber could be in the air by year’s end, barring any unforeseen setbacks.
A Wichita nonprofit group called Doc’s Friends still must install the plane’s fourth and final engine, install avionics and fuel cells, and check all the electrical systems and flight controls.
The Wichita Eagle reports the volunteers also must obtain an airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The group’s board chairman, retired Spirit AeroSystems CEO Jeff Turner, says it will take $750,000 to $1 million to finish restoring the plane, which was built in Wichita in 1944.
When it’s finished, the giant bomber will be one of only two restored B-29s in flying condition.