About Those Planes That Landed In Cheyenne, Thursday

The public takes notice when planes like these fly over Cheyenne neighborhoods. Photos appear on social media quickly, and crowds gather at the airport. Three airplanes landed. A B-29 Superfortress. And an F-18 Hornet and an F-15 Eagle. 

The Cheyenne airport used to sit a mile away, outside the edge of town. But today, with a lot of population growth, the airfield is in the middle of town. So folks hear it, they look up and see it, then the word goes out.

The B-29 was having propeller trouble, so it landed for repairs. Those props can change their angle at the pilot's command to get better bites of air for climbing or cruising. One stopped doing that.

They parked her right in front of a hangar that installed tail gunner turrets during WWII.

The Cheyenne tail turret was a heavily utilized, upgraded tail gun enclosure developed during World War II. It was designed at the United Air Lines Modification Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1944 to replace the cramped, earlier "stinger" tail design on B-17G Flying Fortresses.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a revolutionary four-engined, propeller-driven American heavy bomber that stood as the most technologically advanced and expensive aircraft program of World War II. This model of plane became legendary for delivering the two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The B-29 Superfortress 44-69972, which visited the airfield on this day, is known as "Doc" and is one of only two Boeing B-29 Superfortresses still flying in the world today. Built in 1944 in Wichita, Kansas, this historic bomber was saved from a California desert, where it served as a target, and underwent a 16-year restoration to airworthy condition.

As for the two fighter jets, one was an F-18 Hornet and the other was an F-15 Eagle. Both were painted up for America's 250th.

N885NA is a McDonnell Douglas F-15D Eagle operated by the NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center. The aircraft (MSN 78-0565) serves as an airborne research testbed and chase plane, recently sporting a newly painted livery as part of an aerial armada heading to Washington D.C..

Aircraft N867NA is a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18B Hornet operated by the NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center. Based at Edwards Air Force Base in California, this supersonic two-seat jet serves as an airborne laboratory, chase plane, and research platform supporting space science and aeronautics innovation.

If you thought that was amazing, you should have seen last year's Cheyenne airshow. Photos are below. The next airshow is August 15-16, 2026