The best places for the public to view ‘Doc’s’ first flight Sunday

After 16 years of hard work, the restored Wichita-built Boeing B-29 Superfortress named “Doc” is scheduled for its first flight since 1956.

The flight is set for 8:30 a.m. Sunday, when the World War II bomber will take off and land at McConnell Air Force Base in southeast Wichita.

The flight will depend on weather conditions as well as the flight and ground crews’ approval after the final ground testing of the bomber, according to a Doc’s Friends news release.

The public will not be allowed access to the runway or ramp because of security restrictions, but viewers can watch the flight from locations along 47th Street South near Oliver, including parking lots on the southwest corner of 47th Street South and Oliver. A live webcast will also be available at www.b-29doc.com/firstflight.

Spectators can also watch the flight from the Kansas Aviation Museum, which will be open from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Parking on museum grounds will cost $10 per car, but the fee is refundable with the purchase of at least one regular admission ticket, which is $9.50 per person. If the flight is canceled, no refunds will be given.

Once the flight is over, regular admission rates will apply and the parking fee will no longer be necessary.

Since 2000, volunteers have worked to restore the World War II B-29 bomber and return it to the air. “Doc” – originally part of a squadron of B-29s known as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – was one of 1,644 bombers built at Boeing’s Wichita plant.

The B-29s were the type of bomber that dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War II in the Pacific.

The nonprofit group managing the bomber’s restoration, Doc’s Friends, was formed in 2013 to restore the bomber and return it to the air.

Doc’s Friends has cautioned that flight plans are still subject to change. For more information, visit www.b-29doc.com, or sign up to receive updated scheduling information at www.b-29doc.com/signup/.

“If everything goes as planned, Sunday will be a spectacular day for the volunteers who have worked hundreds of thousands of hours to restore this plane,” said Jim Murphy, Doc’s Friends restoration program manager, in a news release.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 5:57 PM with the headline "The best places for the public to view ‘Doc’s’ first flight Sunday."