Officials have given approval for a rebuilt vintage bomber to be ground tested on a military runway in Kansas.

The Wichita Eagle reports (http://j.mp/28UItCT) the Department of Defense has given permission for “Doc,” the vintage Wichita-built B-29 bomber, to use a runway at McConnell Air Force Base for ground testing. The approval essentially clears a path for the aircraft’s first flight since it was rebuilt.

The nonprofit group Doc’s Friends has been restoring the vintage bomber since it came to Wichita in pieces in 2000.

The plane also received its airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration last month.

Doc’s Friends will now discuss with McConnell officials when to schedule high-speed taxi testing and eventually takeoffs and landings.

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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com.