Spend Spring Break with Doc! B-29 Doc Hangar & Education Center launches public open hours

Wichita’s B-29 Superfortress known as Doc will now be on display for the public with admission access beginning this week at the new B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center at Eisenhower National Airport at 1788 S. Airport Road.

Beginning Tuesday, March 12, the B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center will be open for business on Tuesday and Thursday each week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., when the airplane is not on tour at an airshow.

“Since moving into our new facility in November, we’ve been working through winter maintenance on the aircraft, while at the same time putting the finishing touches on our education and visitors center,” said Josh Wells, Doc’s Friends executive director and general manager. “With winter maintenance complete and the airplane nearly ready to fly, we are excited to open our doors to the public to share the historic marvel that is the B-29.”

Admission prices will be $10 per person to enter the hangar and visitors center, with an additional $5 admission ticket for a cockpit tour. Family admission (up to five people per family) will be $20, plus an additional $10 for a cockpit tour. All of the proceeds from the admission fees will go to directly funding the facility and the operation of B-29 Doc.

“From the beginning, we wanted a facility that would not only serve as a maintenance hangar for our volunteers to maintain the historic warbird, but also provide a unique experience for the public to get up close and personal with a piece of our nation’s history that put Wichita on the map as the Air Capital of the World. When visitors enter the B-29 Doc Hangar and Education Center, they’ll get a one-of-a-kind experience that we hope will educate and inspire the next generation of aviation lovers, while we honor the Greatest Generation and connect all who visit to Wichita’s rich aviation heritage,” Wells said.

Meanwhile, the Doc maintenance team plans to run engines later this week and finish up work on the propellers this coming Saturday, before flying for the first time in 2019 the weekend of March 23, weather permitting.