A B-29 WWII Bomber will land at Terre Haute Regional Airport-Hulman Field on Sept 26th. This 75-year-old plane is making its rounds for the Doc Flight Experience Tour and is set to spend two days at the Terre Haute location.
"We want to be able to stop in Terre Haute ... and give folks an opportunity to ride in the airplane and get up close and personal and experience the aircraft," said Josh Wells, the spokesman for Doc's Friends Inc.
After a scheduled flyover in Washington D.C. on the 25th to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII, the Bomber will head to Terre Haute where it will begin rides Saturday evening at 5 and 6:30 p.m. and then continue on Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m.
Operating and maintaining a vintage aircraft of this nature is quite costly. At 99 feet long, the B-29 uses 450 gallons of fuel per hour with an average price of $5.70 per gallon. With maintenance expenses, it's estimated that the cost per flight is about $3,600.
The B-29 Doc flight has nine seats on the aircraft. The bombardier (at $1,500 a ride), cockpit/pilot observer (at $1,200), navigator ($1,200), and six gunner seats ($600 each), which all help to offset the cost of keeping this plane functional.
"This is a way we get out. We restored the airplane to be flown, not to be sitting around," Wells said. "We want to get out and educate people on the history of the greatest generation and honor those men and women who designed and built and maintained these warbirds. And really, give people that up-close experience to be able to see these warbirds up close and preserve history."