Now that the weather is less hazy and the skies are clearer, you are likely to see the Geico Skytypers flying over populated areas, like beaches, or the North Shore of Long Island. For me the first clue that they are around is the very distinctive sound of the throaty roar of five big radial engines as they approach from a distance. There is no other sound like it. So then I run outside and start searching the skies. There are five aircraft flying in a line, side by side. They are North American AT-6 "Texans" with 600 horsepower nine-cylinder engines. They make the white smoke by injecting mineral oil into the engine exhaust, and the planes are all connected by computers to sychronize the smoke puffs that create the letters. I had always wanted to fly with them to do photographs, but it never happened.
3 comments:
Hey, Ken,
You and Paul Schreiber have that thing in common. He hears the engines and runs outside to see the skytypers. When he was a biz columnist, he did a story about the group. That meant he had to take a ride with them. Problem was, he was required to wear a helmet and he has an extra-large head. But he wasn't going to pass up the chance to fly, so he SQUEEZED his head into the biggest helmet they had and went up with them. By the time they landed, he had a huge bruise on his forehead from the helmet and a raging headache from his noggin being compressed all that time. But the pain didn't matter to him. He still thinks flying with the guys was a great experience.
Bet you could get a ride if you asked!
Hope all is well,
Gwen
I think you need to add this to your 'bucket" list :-) bsk
Hi Gwen: Thank you so much for reminding me of this part of the story! I had a sense, when writing this, that *someone* from Newsday had flown with them, but for the life of me, I could not remember who it was! Duh! Thanks for all the details. Can you ask Paul if a photographer went up separately? Why do I think it might be Alejandra.
Post a Comment