Speaking of Detroit Invitationals, I still have the last of Al Taffs's photos of the 1965 Detroit Invitational, this time highlighting Jimmy Grier. As a young teen, I remember seeing Jimmy and his black, white, and olive green Taurus with the inverted engine. Jimmy stood out to me, not only because he was the only black pilot, but because he was such a good, accomplished, and smooth flier. As shown in Chuck's video, Jimmy's Taurus really "moved", and in an era of relatively abrupt and jerky plane movement due to the radios of the time, he had a very "fluid" flying style. In the pylon event, he knew how to cut a fast, sharp turn.
In addition to everything else Jimmy seems to be universally liked by everyone I've ever talked to when his name came up...that is quite a feat in and of itself.
Reportedly when asked why his planes were all the olive/white/and black, he said he had "...gallons of it and had to use it up." Jimmy's Taurus'a color scheme was very distinctive and was "sharp-looking". Although personally I would have avoided the olive, the way he did it, it looked good.
Now here are Al's two photos of Jimmy, and we'll see if we can find any more among my Dad's slides and add them later. Notice Tom and Helen in the background, (Tom with the mic, and Helen in the white dress and sunglasses). Another thing you can't miss is the angle of the plane as it is "barreling" right at the camera. This is my favorite picture. It took a lot of courage to take this shot. [X(]
Thanks again Al for the trouble you went to to send these photos to me.
Duane