The Dickweeds first overflew Bishop field A6 and did a missing man formation in honor of C.O. Vega. His wife, callsign DRN911, rode as observer in the plane that performed the climb. Two excellent Bishop fighter squadrons waited on the ground and departed after the bombers overflew.
Next stop was A4, where any interested Bishops could depart and climb up to join the formation.
The Dickweed formation and accompanying Bishops flew north through the mountain passes and circled a Knight airfield. During this time several Knight planes joined the flight along with a few Rook planes as well.
It was important to avoid collisions in the formation with opposing team aircraft since these collisions sent some aircraft spinning to the ground. Nonetheless, most pilots fared quite well.
The temptation to thread one's fighter through a formation of tightly-flown bombers was too great for many of the fighter pilots.
The Vega memorial flight proceeded back through the mountain pass at 12,000 feet, circled by Rook field A88 and then returned to Bishop territory, all the time leading a sizeable number of Bishops, Rooks, and Knights. Only two dimwits shot down a substantial number of participants. The rest of the Aces High community "got it". May the dimwits have the wheels of their own funeral processions stolen when their time comes some day, as it surely will.
Upon landing back at the Bishop field, the place looked like England during the war! P-51s, Spitfires, and P-47s lined the runway. Tanks fired salutes. A brave German Arado jet buzzed the field and drew fire from the gunners. The 91st Bomber Squadron parked professionally on the hardstand by the hangars. X.O. Thunder chose to park the Dickweed B-17s along the runway as well.
All in all, we think that Vega would be please with this sendoff that the Aces High community provided. Your response was overwhelming. For over an hour and a half the salutes and words of respect filled the text buffers. A big salute to all of you who participated!
