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A number of people have asked me about the whole story behind this picture and I have also been asked about publishing an article about it. The story is long and goes back a long way and when I get time I will write it and let you know here how to find it.

I will say a few things about this picture. It was taken in the Boise Idaho valley a few years ago. It was a seized drug runner and was ferried to my hanger were the mechanical and interior restoration took place. From there it was going to Washougal Washington and wait three months until it was repainted. My brother and I decided to have a go at the paint with all our friends adding the comments for everyone to read including Jim's entire crop dusting crash history. After it was finished and many laughs till our sides split open I new I had to get some a2a's. With so many a2a's between us we didn't need much preflight brief. The airplane looked so bad I just had to ask Jim if we could make it look worse. I asked him to cage an engine. " You want me to what" !? He said he would make that call inflight after we were in formation at 100-110 knots. Jim knows Commanders like the back of his hand and if it was a problem he would tell me. Knowing who you are flying with is very important when you start pushing the subject around. Two minutes into the formation and half a wingspan away the port engine goes quiet and we never skipped a beat. After thirty minutes Jim turns it back on and it's a twin Commander again. In my opinion the people are the most important part of a2a. You can have the best camera,the best weather,the best airplanes,the best preflight but if you don't have the people you are not going to get anything good and you might not even land. The pink part is long and funny and I will write the whole story soon. Jim