Today was a great day. The #99 EDGE left on a flat bed truck for its over the road journey to JFK Airport. From there, it will be loaded onto a 747 Freighter for a trip to meet the other Red Bull Air Race race planes in Brussels. Once in Brussels, all the race machines which have been collected from around the world, will be loaded onto another 747 for the trip to Abu Dhabi, which is our first race location.

The weather in Boston was beautiful today so I was able to get out in the EXTRA and start preparing for the 2010 air show season. I forgot how awesome the EXTRA flies and now it looks incredible in its new ASB.TV colors and paint scheme (check back for photos soon).

Right off the bat, I pulled a muscle in my upper back, which is coincidentally the same one I injured toward the end of last season. It’s amazing that after a four month lay off, an injury can linger unknowingly until you start abusing your body and then it comes right back again with the same level of pain as before. Oh well, that’s part of this game and I will never complain about injuring myself while flying one of the most beautiful airplanes on the planet. It’s a GOOD hurt:-)

Watching the race plane move on down the road and going flying in the ASB.TV EXTRA has put a bounce in my step. It’s just great to get the new season underway because it has been a long and cold winter in Boston.

The new season is always exciting for me. After more than twenty years of flying aerobatics, and more recently racing, I love it today as much as I did when I was still dreaming of flying in my first air show.