B-29 reunion added to warbird highlights at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024

The world’s only two flying examples of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress will make a rare joint appearance this summer during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2024, supporting the “Turning the Tide” salute to 1944 and the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The 71st edition of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s fly-in convention is July 22-28 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh. It is believed to be only the fourth time two B-29s have made a joint public appearance in 50 years, with the first taking place in Oshkosh in 2017. It is the first time these aircraft have appeared together since 2018.

Rick Larsen, EAA’s vice president of communities and member programs, who coordinates AirVenture features and attractions commented: “As AirVenture is the world’s largest annual gathering of warbirds, bringing these two iconic aircraft together is another of those ‘Only at Oshkosh’ moments. These airplanes are big favorites wherever they appear, but together they will make the ‘Turning the Tide’ commemoration even more unforgettable.”

As currently scheduled, each airplane will spend time featured on EAA’s Boeing Plaza. FIFI will be on display on July 22-24, while Doc will take centerstage for display on July 25-28. The airplanes are also scheduled to make a formation flight at the beginning of the July 24 night air show. When not on display at Boeing Plaza, flight experiences on Doc July 22-25 will be based at Appleton International Airport, approximately 20 miles north.

FIFI is owned and operated by the Commemorative Air Force’s B-29/B-24 Squadron of Dallas, Texas. It was acquired by the CAF in the early 1970s when a group of CAF members found it at the U.S. Navy Proving Ground at China Lake, California, where it was being used as a missile target. The airplane was rescued and restored, then flew for over 30 years until 2006, when the chief pilot made the decision to ground it pending a complete power plant re-fit. After an extensive four-year restoration that included installing four new custom-built hybrid engines, FIFI returned to the sky in 2010 and has since traveled coast to coast. More information is available on at the CAF’s AirPower History Tour website. 

Doc was built in 1944 and for many years was part of a squadron known as the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in upstate New York at Griffiss Air Force Base (hence, the name Doc). The airplane was retired in 1956 as the jet bomber age began and sat as a target for Navy training missions in China Lake, California, until 1998. A restoration group took possession of the airplane from the U.S. government and hauled it back to Wichita, Kansas, in pieces in 2000. After 16 years and more than 450,000 volunteer hours, Doc made its first flight after restoration in July 2016, 60 years after it had been retired. Flight experience information for Doc at Oshkosh is available at https://www.b29doc.com/rides/. Doc is owned and operated by Doc’s Friends, Inc., a non-profit based in Wichita.