Vimy Update - November 2001

After an eventful and highly successful summer of flying across the country to Wisconsin and OshKosh AirVenture 2001 to its well earned position as "star of the show", the Vimy is again safely resting in its home in Northern California.

Other recent events:

Vimy to “Appear” in Star Wars

The Vimy was recently used in the LucasFilm production of the Third Episode of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy for use as an “alien space ship”. All of our team’s preparations and operations were filmed extensively for the making of the documentary about the production of the blockbuster-scale feature film. (Read more about this in Mark Rebholz's report.)

Flight Restrictions Lifted

The FAA has amended temporary regulations so the Vimy can resume making flights over the San Francisco area. We have used the last several weeks to complete certain maintenance activities so the unmistakable shape will again be seen shortly in Bay Area skies.

Fleet Week Cancelled

Unfortunately, the Vimy’s scheduled October appearance over San Francisco during “Fleet Week” (with the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration team) was cancelled due to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. While the Vimy team was disappointed not to be able to show our colors in support of the U.S. Navy, potential security issues were deemed unmanageable by the City of San Francisco and several ships participating in Fleet Week were recalled to active service.

Vimy Headlines le Concours d’Elegance

After AirVenture 2001, the Vimy appeared as the center attraction at the opening of Le Concours d’Elegance, the world’s most famous exotic car event, located at the airport in Monterey California. The Vimy was a notable complement to the pristine Bugattis, Dusenbergs, vintage racing cars, and nearly a thousand other antique vehicles.

Gordon McCall, founder of Motorworks, and host of the event put it this way, “The Vimy and her stirring tales of adventure have added a new dimension to this year’s event. Our guests are always keen on the car collections, but I have never seen them respond the way they have toward this magnificent machine. Bravo to the Vimy crew! We look forward to assisting your transatlantic adventure.”

The Vimy performed flybys of the Laguna Seca racing circuit during the vintage racing events. Between flights she was parked on the tarmac adjacent to two U.S. Navy F/A – 18 tactical fighters (whose pilots were quite willing to have a try at the Vimy). Depending on the timing of our other activities, we would look forward to attending le Concours again in 2002. Thanks Gordon, for making it possible.

Wings over Wine Country

From Monterey, the Vimy was flown over Oakland (as requested by the controllers so they could have a closer look) to Santa Rosa, where tt appeared again as a "star of the show" for the Wings Over Wine Country air show. Several press flights were held and a stunning picture made the front page of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

Microsoft Flight Simulator

On a new and exciting note, preliminary discussions have begun with Microsoft regarding their flight simulator program….stay tuned!