B-29 Superfortress "Doc" In Tulsa This Weekend

The kind of plane known for ending WWII is in Tulsa this weekend. One of only two B-29s that can still fly is at Tulsa International Airport, ready for veterans and fans of aviation to come check it out for either a tour or a flight.

The B-29 Superfortress known as "Doc," is in Tulsa after a forty-minute flight from Wichita, led by pilot Steve Zimmerman.

"I started this because I love the airplanes. And now it's more about the people,” he said.

The WWII bomber commands the attention of the young and the young at heart.

Kindergartner Kennet White got to visit with the pilot before stepping inside, where a look back in time, makes up for lack of legroom.

"The front of the airplane's pressurized, the middle's pressurized, and the tail's pressurized,” Zimmerman said. “So that's the tunnel to get from the front of it to the middle."

News On 6 got an up-close look at the cockpit, old radios, and switches and buttons around every corner.

A big takeaway for five-year-old Kennet was on the outside.

"The propellers are so big,” he said.

He and his parents are in town from Houston, surprised by this hands-on history lesson.

"We were going to go to the museum just down the street and then we saw this plane was going to be landing, so we were here for the landing, and seeing it pull in was pretty crazy,” Kennet’s dad, Kurt, said.

While "Doc" never saw combat, 20-year Air Force Veteran Garland Clark did. He served in airborne communications during the Vietnam War and continued serving until 1979. Clark hopes Tulsans can take a moment to appreciate this old plane, the Superfortress, still going strong.

"A lot of people today don't realize the sacrifice that so many of the flight crews and ground people just to get an airplane like this in the air, and bring it back, and keep our country safe,” Clark said.

Flights and tours are available both Saturday and Sunday.

The money raised helps keep the plane in the air, which owners said costs about $12,000 - $15,000 an hour to fly, when you consider maintenance and insurance.

For more information about the tours and flights, click here.

To see a story about this plane from CBS Sunday Morning, click here.