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Hi, One more thing. At Reno-Stead, late Friday afternoon, after we had received the official work of race cancellation, something quite extraordinary happened. At least it had a profound effect on me. I'm not sure why we hung around for several hours after the announcement, but I'm glad that we did. The billowy cloud formations and the low, late afternoon sun angle made the desert look quite lovely and made a perfect background for the planes even if they were on the ground. We were standing in the deserted pylon judge parking area which is located near one end of the runway. We heard the unmistakeable sound of a Sea Fury starting up. At first, I thought he was just checking his engine again but soon it was clear that he was taxiing to the runway. Not having a radio or a scanner, I didn't know for sure what was going on. Thoughts and questions entered my mind. Would this pilot defy everything and give us a show? Certainly a brave, if foolhardy thing to do. I didn't think he would take that sort of a chance. I supposed that he was IFR and was going home. I enjoyed watching him take off and mentally wished him a good flight home. But then watching him climb and circle...and circle, it soon became apparent that he wasn't leaving the airport vacinity! I would estimate that he climbed to 8000-10000 msl. His circles were wider than but pretty much followed the race route. He was doing the same very steep turns that he would have done around the pylons. I'm not positive but I think he did the same number of circuits that he would have done in the race. The few people who were still at airport were transfixed. What he did was awe-inspiring, a true gift that lifted the spirits of many unhappy people. When he landed people were clapping and cheering. I walked over to his crew and shook the hand of and thanked the first crew member I could find. Turns out that everything was totally legal. They had just replaced the engine so there was good reason to test fly it before taking it home. Perfect. Thanks Sea Fury and pilot. Spook ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiLm.aVzvvT Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
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