Landing Light

After just digging out from under 10 inches of lake effect snow in Chicago, I walked in to find these great shots from a Jetwhine reader. Thanks Alan J.

They reminded me of a time when an instructor once encouraged me to try landing a Cessna 150 so softly that we would not even know we’d touched down. It’s much tougher than it looks. But in a T-6? I mean, you have to be kidding me, right? Are you guys at Gauntlet Warbirds watching this?

Can you imagine being the insurance agent on these airplanes and having someone e-mail this to your office one bright Monday morning?

The text that came with them reads just this way … “Early morning anglers are treated to the spectacle of four T-6 ‘HARVARDS’ (to the Brits) or ‘TEXANS’ (to the U.S.) Aircraft (former WWII Flight Trainers) from The Flying Lions Aerobatic Team water-skiing across the Klipdrift Dam near Johannesburg, South Africa.

Arnie Meneghelli from Academy Brushware, owner of the aircraft, had this to say, ‘What we did today I believe is a world first. It illustrates that South African air show pilots are amongst the best in the world.’  This unusual act, approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and supported by Castrol Aviation, was meticulously planned and took place under the watchful eye of divers and paramedics that were on site.