The Red Baron bounced off the runway and was in the air in a heartbeat, slowly gaining altitude. Our biplane followed, taxiing at the speed of a bicycle, before we, too, defied the law of gravity and got airborne. The wind brushed my face, leather cap and funny goggles when we engaged in the intense pursuit of the infamous German fighter pilot. We trailed the Baron at close range, white smoke ensuing from its tail signifying it was hit. Joe Auger, the pilot flying the Red Baron’s Fokker Dr. 1 replica, made a few passes to make sure I got a photo I needed. Finally, I raised the thumb up and we headed for landing at the Brampton airport, near Toronto, Canada. It was a wonderful sunny afternoon on August 14, 2003, and a lot more was going on under the sky.

While we were up, reenacting the WW I air battle, a generating plant in Parma, Ohio, U.S.A., went off-line under overwhelming electrical demand, causing cascading power outages of other plants throughout the northeastern part of the continent. By the time we came to a halt in front of the Brampton Aviation Museum’s hangar, eastern Canada and northeastern parts of the United States were hit by the largest power blackout in North American history.