Maurice is heading towards Houston Texas as part of his flying tour of the United States for afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches at AMT Training Solutions http://amt-1.com/, Human Factors Training.
The Florida Pelican Award 13th April 2008. Today was rather special for an Englishman far from his native country. Sun ‘n Fun, the Florida Air Show, was drawing to a close and I was due to set off, ‘low and slow’, across the Southern States of America in ‘Liberty Girl 11’ for Mexico, South America and beyond.
Florida Sport Aviation Antique and Classic Association had kindly been sheltering me from both the sun and occasional thunderstorm during the week’s show and as a member had enjoyed the night aerobatics display from their annual banqueting table. The show was the usual spectacular with none of the infernal buzzing of the modern day noisy machines of Extras or Pitts Specials. Graceful ‘old timers’ instead could be heard in the darkness, my occasionally spotting the silhouette of one against the moon as smoke, fireworks, lights or all three, streamed a trail behind her. Shelly Decker and others gathered to give me the prestigious award only given to those who have achieved something, as he wryly put it, “extraordinary and outstanding”. It is known as the Pelican Award, carved out of wood and resembling their ungainly native bird. It was not until later that night, when I was all tucked up in my sleeping bag under the cub, that I remembered the way pelicans land! Now, ‘any landing is a good landing, if you can walk away from it’ and in my case ‘swim away from the sharks’. As the heavy dew dripped off the canvas aircraft around me, I kept asking myself, “Have I understood the real reason for receiving such a special award? My flit through the US to Mexico is going to be fun.
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