SaxMan wrote:
Thank you to all those who participated today.
Again, I believe that opportunities like these are the "silver linings" in the sequestration cloud. The positive publicity that this gives to the Warbird movement is invaluable. I will bet that someone watching today will think "That is something I want to be a part of".
I saw an interview with the family on the local news, and the nephew of one the flyers said that when he saw the A-26 fly over, it just gave him a lump in his throat. Had there not been the budget constraints, this probably would not have happened. While an F-16 missing man formation is certainly a spectacle to behold, to be able to fly over in the same type of airplane that these two men were lost in brought a whole new dimension to the flyover for the families.
Read the bold part again, folks- that right there makes this a far, far more appropriate and touching gesture than four gas-passers rocketing overhead. And I completely agree that this has represented in some absolutely OUTSTANDING exposure for our favorite people, those who fly and maintain these old warhorses... I saw that Nine-O-Nine got some nice prime-time coverage thanks to her overflight at the NASCAR race this weekend, for instance.
Yes, the sequestration sucks for thousands of reasons, but I prefer to focus on the excellent opportunity it has brought for our little corner of the world. And let's not forget, just two short years ago, things were looking pretty bleak for warbirds in the aftermath of Jimmy Leeward's tragic crash at Reno.
Heartfelt thanks to all who participated in this and made it so meaningful. Well done, all.
Lynn