Sunday, March 29, 2009

Missing Man Formation
















Mike's dad Roy has a friend die recently. At the memorial, Roy and three other pilots performed the Missing Man Flight Formation over the service. Due to unfortunate weather conditions, Roy said they were bumped and bounced around more than he had ever experienced. The bumpiness resulted in the formation not being perfectly straight, which I'm sure bugged Roy!

Nevertheless, it was a really beautiful thing. Roy's position was the most difficult one to hold: he's on the far left in all of the photos. During this formation, the second plane from the left, the one in the ring-finger position, leaves formation and pulls up, leaving a gaping hole that resembles the hole left in the lives of all of us when someone we love dies. The apex of this plane's flight pattern is over the home of the deceased.

As far as I know, this is the second such memorial in which Roy has flown. The first was for Kerbi, the lovely lady who painted Roy's plane after he finished building it.

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