The 3rd annual Low Pass Competition sponsored by Ego-Maxx Energy drinks has predictably ended in multiple plane crashes.
This third iteration of the event dubbed the “Ego versus Brains” event, surprised no one who has ever met a pilot.
Bob Myers, 43, of Orlando Florida said “I know a lot of pilots and they are always trying to prove they are better than other pilots. This event proves it. Each pilot passed lower than the guy before him so as soon as the first one geared up just to prove a point, we knew it was just going to be planes smashing into the ground for the rest of the day.”
We spoke to many spectators and the comments indicated that Mr. Myers was probably correct.
Phil Warren, 32, of Tulsa OK said “It got to the point where the only way to beat the previous pilot was to crash sooner. At first, they were crashing around the middle of the runway. By the end, they were diving right into the numbers.”
We stuck around until the end of the competition. Chad O’Doyle was the last of the competitors; we stood next to him while the show was wrapping up. He said “In order to beat that guy, I am going to have to die twice and I guarantee you I can do it. I am a better pilot than him; everyone who has flown with me knows that.”
When asked if he had any parting comments as he walked away, he just yelled “I’m the boldest pilot ever! Just watch!”
Last thing we saw, Chad was speeding down the runway, lifted off a few feet, gained a tremendous amount of speed and just nosed it in to the departure end of the runway. Just before pushing it in, one last radio call was heard as he belted out “O’Doyle Rules!!!” then his plane burst into flames.
In the final analysis, it was hard to tell who won. To every aviator that perished that day, they were the winner.
To those of us watching, it was Chad.
