Doc the B-29 Startup and Takeoff

L8APEX

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B-29 Doc | Doc's Friends | B-29 Superfortress | Restoring History

Lost my grandfather and last parent last week and in the late 50's he worked on the Convair B-36 Peacemaker "6 turning, 4 burning" and the B-47 Stratojet when he was in the Airforce (neither still fly).
As a way to get back to my roots (grew up around aircraft) my cousin and I went to see Doc today. Just happened to be the 75th anniversary of VJ-Day.

Doc the B-29 is only one of 2 still flying, and today I was lucky enough to get video of not only startup but takeoff. Unfortunately my camera overheated as he started to taxi out.
If you have good speakers the "Hybrid" Wright Duplex-Cyclones make an awesome noise (~3k hp each.)

The camera overheating gave me an excuse to drive to the end of the runway, and catch him taking off. Now most of he filming was through a fence at this point, and my cousins kids are asking questions, but a low pass in a B-29 is a low pass in a B-29. B-29s are amazing in person, it's been years since I was in Fifi but hope to get a ride in Doc before winter maintenance begins this year.
Doc was built here in Wichita, Kansas along with over 1,600 other B-29s back in the mid 40s. Those same factory's later produced the B-47, B-52 and today over 70% of the 737 (and P-8 Poseidon.)
Even with our wide and rich aviation history, Wichita would not be the same if it were not for the B-29, and it makes you appreciate the history and this aircraft even more.

If you ever visit Wichita (check out Doc's hanger), or if Doc or Fifi visit an airshow near you, go check them out, especially with kids. If you really want to have fun go for a flight. This video does this aircraft no justice.

The work that has gone into this aircraft, to pull it 40 miles out of China lake in '98, disassemble and ship it back to Wichita by '00, then the thousands of hours volunteers spent over 15 years to restore it to flying condition is hard to comprehend. Some of the people that helped restore Doc were people that originally built them back when they were new.
Thankfully the Commemorative Air force figured out most of the hard parts by simply keeping Fifi flying over the years or it would have been ever longer. They ran out of engines...and Fifi sat for nearly a decade. The engines that run in Doc and Fifi are Hybrids of two Duplex-cyclones (one is from the A-1 Skyraider) that have plenty of spares, fit under the cowlings and all the B-29 accessories bolt up to. While still supercharged, they had to ditch the turbochargers.

I'm not pushing a YouTube channel, it's simply the easiest way to share video. This one is public so you guys can share, the rest are private.

(I recorded in 4k 60fps but do not have any editing software that does over 1080p, need something that can do 360*cameras too that's cheap, any recommendations? I'd like to redo this in 4k, and eventually get video flying, I'm tempted to splurge the $1,500 for the Navigator spot and take my 360* camera.)
 
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BlksvtCobra01

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Amazing thank you for sharing, would love a ride in one. RIP to your grandfather and parent sorry for your loss.


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SVTdreamin04

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Love this kind of stuff. The only type of plane ever to carry and drop nuclear armaments.


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Lambeau

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Sorry to hear about your grandfather and last parent. RIP
Prayers sent.

Thanks for the video!
 

MFE

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There's a static display of a B-29 at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson. I was there with my son a few years ago and it really didn't register with me that the old white-haired dude sitting at a folding table nearby was a docent for the museum, and had flown in them in the war. He approached us and started chatting. Aside from pointing out all the patched holes from bullets and shrapnel that I hadn't really noticed before, the thing that struck me the most was his assertion that the engines they came with could barely get them airborne without overheating. He said the crews hated those engines because it was all too common to lose one or even two on the climbout. Which is one reason why Doc (and I think Fifi) don't use the kind of engines they first came with.
 

VegasMichael

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Awesome jet. I live near Nellis Air Force Base and saw a B-52 Stratofortress fly overhead last year. It was very low to the ground and I was like Jesus Christ that thing is spectacular. Used to see B-2 stealth bombers and F-117A's too before the latter were put into storage in Tonopah, NV.
 

MG01GT

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Love this man! My grand father was a navigator on a B29 during WW2. I have seen Doc up close and personal at the Miramar air show 2 years ago!
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L8APEX

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There's a static display of a B-29 at the Pima Air Museum in Tucson. I was there with my son a few years ago and it really didn't register with me that the old white-haired dude sitting at a folding table nearby was a docent for the museum, and had flown in them in the war. He approached us and started chatting. Aside from pointing out all the patched holes from bullets and shrapnel that I hadn't really noticed before, the thing that struck me the most was his assertion that the engines they came with could barely get them airborne without overheating. He said the crews hated those engines because it was all too common to lose one or even two on the climbout. Which is one reason why Doc (and I think Fifi) don't use the kind of engines they first came with.
I'd love to visit that museum. They have a B-36 on static, and the stories I've heard from my grandfather about the size even compared to the B-29 and B-52 is hard to comprehend. My grandpa would say "On the B-36, where the wing meets the fuselage a grown man could stand in the wing and still have room above his head." And my favorite "If you parked one on the 50 yard line of a football field, the wingtips would make it past the 20 yard line on each side." (They actually would be a yard and a half short on each side, close enough)
I was fortunate enough to meet many WWII vets and hear their stories. Even as a kid they carried weight, as the men (and women, WASPS) told me their the stories almost as if it were a cautionary tale.
The engine fires were teething issues with new technology/engines being rushed out to fight the war. The B-29 was the only aircraft with the legs to reach Japan, so they were pushed into service.
The later Duplex-cyclones became very reliable over time and many variants were fitted to numerous aircraft (military and civilian), all the way into the 1990s. The original R-3350-57AM required lots of maintenance, and the last ones on Fifi were pulled when metal shavings were found in the oil.
Like I said before Doc and Fifi use hybrids because Fifi used up all the original R-3350-57AMs by 2006. The solution was a hybrid R-3350-95W and R-3350-26WD (From an A-1 and C-119 Boxcar) much better reliability with less maintenance, andplenty of power. The mixture meant they could still fit under the original cowlings without modifications, and the original B29 accessories would bolt right up and work on them, and best of all there are many, many spares left.
Just heard Doc fly by the house as I was typing this. We are so fortunate to have been able to not only restore but to build a hangar and keep Doc here.

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SVTFastBack

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I saw that bird a lot out here where it was rotting just a few miles from me.. watching them take it out was rather interesting because it's.............HUGE. I'm just glad they didn't use it for testing out here because stuffs always blowing up.
 

VenomousDSG

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Sorry for your losses, that's extremely rough all in one week....

Very cool aircraft also. I got to see Fifi some years ago here at the Aurora Airport. I think there are only 2 or 3 b29s still flying today.
 

CobraBob

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Works of aviation engineering art. Thanks for posting the video and narrative. Must be adrenaline pumping to actually ride in one of those B-29s.
 

L8APEX

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Works of aviation engineering art. Thanks for posting the video and narrative. Must be adrenaline pumping to actually ride in one of those B-29s.
I remember when my aunt and uncle went up in Fifi years ago. She had to crawl to the tail gunner spot as she was the only one small enough to fit through the pressurized tube that connected the forward section over the bombay, to the tail gunner station.
They have one on display in Doc's hangar, in an outline of a B-29, with various stations inside the cockpit like the navigator, and radio operators statons all set up accordingly. That tube is long... kids crawl through it just a few times and get tired really quick.
My cousin and I've been fortunate enough to get to fly in many old planes and meet many pilots that are no longer with us.

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes. I miss him but the past month and a half were hell for him. Seeing a loved one suffer is worse than death. I've seen both, I've had to ”pull the plug" on my mom, just 57. Both hurt but with death comes some peace. I'm sure my grandma chewed his ass when he got up there, before giving a hug. Lots of my loved ones are hopefully up there.
Just weird as a 37 year old with no parents left, even my stepdad died a few years ago.
You hear people complain about their mom or dad calling or sending meassages.
I have all my text messages and the last voicemail with mom saved in 3 places. The things I'd do to get one more message, and know they are ok....

I just found these pictures of B-36/B-47 I had saved to share with my grandpa in the hospital (along with all the youtube videos I could find)
one is a B-47, followed by a B-52, and a B-36 behind them. Finally a B-29 next to a B-36
I couldn't imagine actually seeing/hearing a "Peacemaker" flying. 6 pusher props and 4 jets, thus thier motto "6 turning, 4 burning"
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Double"O"

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I have seen both fly luckily

Seen fifi a few times and Doc once...awesome machines

Could you imagine the sound of 20 of em in formation? Man that would have awesome see
 

CSCOBRA03

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God Bless you, sorry for your losses. It's tough losing a loved one much less two of them. I lost my oldest son this January and think of him every day!
 

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