Actually Chug, I'm going to apologise. My tone was harsh. I don't post here often, and this thread clearly indicates why I don't bother (plus, I don't have time, as I've usually got some interesting flying to do). I was annoyed at some of the comments, and do consider them ill-informed, hence my language. For example if you'd ever met Mac, you would never have guessed he was in his seventies. Age is a number. Some people are old at 40, some young at 60. He also had over 7,000hrs in the B-17, and knew what he was doing. Sometimes, **** does just happen, and as Ernest Gann wrote, "no amount of paper will cushion a sudden impact between metal and stone." I honestly do believe its an individual's right to fly in a vintage aircraft, BASE jump, swim with sharks, ride a motorbike etc etc. That's my opinion. I suspect you don't, and that's your opinion. I was flying a sailplane in ridge and wave in the Black Mountains last weekend. At times, it was considerably more stressful than my flight as Mac's co-pilot! Perhaps I shouldn't do that either? 'Danger and delight grow on the same stalk' is an olde English proverb, which explains the appeal of adventure sports and roller coasters, and riding in WW2 fighters and bombers. Nevertheless, my language was intemperate, possibly because a man I knew who I both respected and admired, had just died.