Former Red Baron pilot Matt Morrissey takes us behind the scenes of his aerobatic career in the Boeing Stearman. From daily formation flights and a near midair collision to the daring idea of performing a formation loop inside Winslow Crater, Morrissey shares the thrills, risks, and split-second decisions that defined life with one of America’s most iconic airshow teams.
just ahead, I spotted an overpass with a parallel frontage road running downhill, lined with trees. Instinct took over. I pulled over the trees, lined up with the road, and held centerline while the branches whipped by on either side. Too fast, and it was my first Cassutt landing. I kicked rudder to skid and scrub off speed. Just as I was about to set down, I noticed a single power line crossing the road. Normally I’d slip under it, but the only car on the road was about to pass underneath at the same time. Now too slow to climb over, I slid under the wire and over the car, then touched down safely.
I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting them. My tailwheel lifted—I was about to tip onto my back. I released the brakes just long enough for the tail to drop, then had to brake again immediately. The tail came up a second time, but this time I held the brakes and prayed.
It is minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit in this foreign land north of Moscow. I am sitting in a single-seat, Russian Sukhoi 26 at the end of an ice-covered runway waiting to be cleared for takeoff. There is a lot going through my mind. First of all, I have never flown a single-seat Sukhoi 26.
I am sitting in this brightly colored red, two seat, Pitts Special S2B stunt plane alone over the Atlantic Ocean at 9,500 feet. I have been flying out of sight from land for quite some time and occasionally the magnitude of the adventure I am undertaking sinks in and I have to mentally remind myself to take this trip one small step at a time.
It has been said that the last fighter pilot has been born. While time will answer that projection, this story is about the human element in dogfighting: the desire that pilots with skill and confidence have to test themselves against others with the same. In this epic experience, two of the latest fighters of the day meet relics of a bygone era.
It was getting late in the day and the tropical weather was closing in behind me. I felt trapped. Weather was all around and nothing but dense jungle below. I started to get frustrated and really worried. An hour and a half had passed and I was no closer to Panama City. My only alternate airfield was back across the mountains. The last thing I wanted to do was climb back up to 15,000 feet, but I had no choice.