L'articolo parla di Tony Mazzolini, riconosciuto come statista distinto dall'Associazione Nazionale Aeronautica. Mazzolini scoprì "Doc", un antico aeroplano B-29. L'aereo rimase nel Deserto del Mojave per 42 anni. Mazzolini aveva provato per 10 dieci anni ad impossessarsi dell'aereo. Nel 2000, finalmente riuscì e lo portò a Wichita, Kansas. Impiegò 16 anni per ripristinare l'aereo il Doc adesso si trova all’Eisenhower National Airport di Wichita.

You may have heard the name Tony Mazzolini but perhaps not heard his story before. Mazzolini was on a  quest to find and restore a WWII B29 Superfortress Bomber. 

Mazzolini was initially raised in the Murray Hill area of Cleveland. The family then moved to the 110th and Woodland neighborhood, an Italian American enclave. His parents, Joseph and Lillian, raised him with his brothers, Richard, Donald and Vincent (Sonny).

An Air Force Veteran of four years active duty in the 1950s, he was a Flight Engineer in Korea and Japan on mostly C47s, but also on many of the other USAF planes in the warzone. A Flight Engineer controls everything the Pilot and Navigator do not. 

Recently, the National Aeronautic Association flew Mazzolini to Wichita to honor him as a Distinguished Statesman for demonstrating leadership and perseverance in securing and restoring a B-29 as a tribute to the patriots whose commitment and sacrifice contributed to the preservation of freedom and peace during WWII and beyond. Greg Principato, NAA President, said “It is our privilege at the National Aeronautic Association to honor great achievements and great careers.”

Tony found “Doc” on the Naval China Lake boneyard in the California Mojave Desert, where it had been sitting for 42 years. Doc had initially been part of a squadron called the Seven Dwarfs. Having a passion for vintage aircraft, Mazzolini decided to try and buy it. He contacted the U.S. Navy.

According to Josh Wells, Executive Director and GM of Doc’s Friends, Inc., a nonprofit in Wichita, the Navy told him, “You can’t buy it, but we can barter and trade for it.” The Navy wanted a Doolittle Tokyo Raider-style B-25 PBJ variant. Mazzolini, who worked for Continental Airlines and General Electric, and apparently had connections that the average guy didn’t, located one in Venezuela. He negotiated, bought it and shipped it to Florida and then to Cleveland for restoration. After six years the restoration was complete. He could now trade and take ownership of the B-29 and thus began the quest to restore it, too.

It took another 10 years to get it out of the Mojave due to bureaucratic red tape and the need to protect the habitat of the endangered desert tortoise. The plane was obviously not air-worthy, so Mazzolini contacted Jeff Turner, the Vice President and site leader of Boeing in Wichita. Turner told him that if he could get it back to Wichita, they would help him out.

In 2000, it arrived there on seven flatbed trailers. Sixteen years later and it was finished, thanks to hundreds of volunteers. “This couldn’t have happened anywhere else in the world but Wichita,” Wells said. “We have retired aviation workers here from Boeing, Bombadier, Textron, Learjet, Cessna, and Beechcraft. All these people needed a place to go after they retired. And they brought their expertise, not to mention all the aviation shops, the parts, widgets, sprocket parts and the other suppliers in the Wichita area who came together to build this airplane. The day we flew in 2017 was something else. There wasn’t a dry eye. Lots of fist pumps, high fives and hugs. It was just another story of Wichita’s historic past, where we are, being the air capital of the world.”

‘Doc’ is now housed in a 42,000 square foot hangar, built specifically to house it. It is located at the Education & Visitors Center at the Eisenhower Nation Airport. It is a real-life maintenance center where volunteers still actively work on it to insure preservation. A flight on board can even be booked.

Mazzolini currently resides in South Euclid with his spouse of 66 years, Maryann. They have two daughters, Lisa (Joe) Kowardy and Claudine (Derek) DiSanto and have been blessed with seven grandchildren.

Sullivan writes from Northfield Village. He is a U.S. Army veteran having served with the 2nd Armored Division in Europe and the U.S.