I was recently given the news about Darryl's death. I too am surprised that the number of postings here is so sparse. Thank you IcePaq for putting up the pictures that can only be a brief summary of a long and complicated life in aviation. Its a pity that the B29 episode so dominates Darryl's story, though of course it was the most public. Its true Darryl said that he was so close, but the B29 was never going to be close enough. You had to be there to know how fearsome the cold was, how terrifying the storms were and how lonely and remote the location. I was with Darryl at the Reno races following the final fire of the B29, sitting on the roof of his small motorhome in the pits, when he was told that the expected funding for Shockwave was not going to be forthcoming. The composure with which Darryl met this news reminded me of Kiplings lines, "if you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat these two imposters just the same....".
Shockwave would have revitalised Reno, and its absence shows even now. However Darryl did come back from what many thought was an inevitable wilderness, to race very successfully with a Lancair team. I had a lot of disagreements with Darryl, but I always respected him, he was a man of great determination and courage, and many amazing stories of the less public parts of aviation history have died with him.