Inspirational fly by

[saber25]

Sometimearound 1987 while I was busy building my RV4, I took a day off from bucking rivets to climb Mt. Grays and Torreys Peak, about thirty miles west of Denver. Both peaks could be bagged as we say in one climb since they are adjoined by a saddle that you traversed and get two 14teenersthat day.

My climbing buddy was very interested in my RV4 project and I gave a running account on my progress and how eager I was to get her completed so I could enjoy viewing our beautiful mountains from another vantage point. Just as we started up the saddle toTorreys Peak I thought I could hear that unmistakable sound of a Merlin engine approaching our perch just below 14000ft. Sure enough, out of the east approaching the saddle we were climbing, the beautiful sight of a twin cockpit Spitfire roared past us and slightly below the peaks elevation. The profile of that airplane against the backdrop of Grays Peak as it streaked by is a picture indelibly etched in my mind.

That sight was the boost needed to get back to my project which was completed in 33 months of intense effort on days when I was not away from home. Not long after completion,I flew my RV4 through that saddle on a weekend and while a Lyc 0-320 comes nowhere near the sound and fury of the Merlin, it was satisfying to see the climbers take a break and wave approvingly as we passed overhead.
Several years later I saw that Spitfire at an air show in Aspen Colorado but never had a chance to tell the pilot of his inspiration to complete my project and keep it on a fast track. Since that time, I’ve had nearly thirty years of flying our mountains and soaring over peaks that in my younger days I may have climbed.
I want to take this opportunity and say thanks for the fly by and how much fun it was to see that bird in such a majestic background. “Miss Fusion” sends her best also.
Cheers, Hans