The photo was taken at 15,000 feet over Siberia on the flight from Yakutsk to Magadan. It was not a planned event.

While in flight, I noticed a glint of a reflection at the two o'clock high position. The object was a mere speck and indiscernible. I changed to the radio frequency used for communication between the rally pilots and called for anyone to reply. Mark Eaton, the pilot of the King Air, the support aircraft responded. A comparison of GPS coordinates confirmed we were the airborne neighbors.

Mark, a professional pilot asked if I had ever flown in formation. His question was rhetorical since my negative reply had little effect on his suggestion that we get real close, and he meant really close.

During the next sixty seconds he gave me a crash, or more correctly, a non-crash course on tandem flying. We checked and re-checked altitude and speed until both nearly coincided, and then just like that, there it was. Three and half tons of airplane creeping up inches at a time loomed out of the right-side cabin window He came so close I could see the sunglasses perched on his head.

One of his passengers took the photo.