B-29 "DOC" Restoration Project

 

Volunteers - Jesse and Shirley Young
Love a part of "DOC's" restoration By Ronald G. Bliss Originally published in the April 30, 2003 Boeing PLANETALK This is a love story. It's a love story about Jesse Young, a retired Boeing tool and die maker and a part-time guitar maker, and his bride, Shirley, of nearly 51 years. It's also a story about Jesse's and Shirley's love of "DOC", a B-29 Superfortress being restored to flying condition in the Northwest Hangar on the Boeing Wichita campus. The lovebirds spend Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week making parts for "DOC."  They've been doing it faithfully for nearly three years and have missed only one day because of snowy weather. Jesse calls their work a "two-person operation."  They help replace small parts that have been damaged or badly corroded.  As a team, the pair draws the parts as closely as they can to specs and turn the drawings over to an engineer.  The parts are then fabricated. "It's like a puzzle," said Jesse.  "We get satisfaction when we see the parts built and fit tightly into the plane like a puzzle." This is also a love triangle because it involves another entity.  It's a feline named Bomber, a stray yellow "hangar cat" that has adopted the Youngs.  When they are at work, the neutered Tomcat is content to lie nearby purring and acting as paperweight for the drawings. Jesse spent 32 1/2 years building tools and parts for Boeing airplanes, mostly B-52s and B-47s. "The B-29 parts are a lot like those from the B-52s so I guess in some ways that helps me draw parts," he said. Jesse said Shirley is a major contributor to the team because she draws templates, cuts out parts and works right along side of him. "Besides, she's a number one cook and always has a smile on her face," he said.  "I wouldn't be out here if she wasn't with me.  She enjoys it too." Jesse said making puzzle parts for an airplane isn't much different than building parts for guitars.  He's built guitars since he was a member of a country and western band many years ago.  He's built guitars with four strings, six strings, and 12 strings. The couple looks forward to seeing "DOC" take to the skies.  Jesse said he wants to be on the first flight with his 13 year-old grandson, Cody.  Shirley said she'll watch from the ground. They plan on staying at work until that day when "DOC" lifts off and as long as Bomber helps them anchor down the drawings. It's all part of building a puzzle and part of the love story that involves "DOC," the Youngs and a young hangar cat named Bomber.
< Previous   First Page    Last Page    Next >