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SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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Monster
Garage star Jesse James flew a car at the Maple Airport in Currituck County
on Friday, February 25, 2005. On the second of three attempts, the modified
Panoz Esperante flew to a height of about 5 ft. and remained in the air
a distance of over 100 ft. The Esperante was donated to Jesse and the Monster Garage by noted personality Donald E Panoz, owner of the Panoz Automobile Company. The car was hand built 55 miles northeast of Atlanta Georgia. The Panoz Company produces between 50-100 cars per year. Starting price for a basic Esperante is $90,000. Mr. Panoz was pleased with Jesse’s work today. Jesse James and his Monster Garage Crew worked with an aircraft engineer to convert the sports car to a flying machine in only 4 ½ days. Michael Twardy, Associate Producer of Monster Garage told the assembled audience the speed needed for lift-off would be at least 88 mph. A succccessful flight would be reaching a height between 1 to 6 ft. The event will be aired on the Discovery Channel in two parts sometime in June. The day began for the Monster Garage crew with a visit to the Wright Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. Jesse wanted to pay homage to the Wright brothers and their spectacular achievement in 1903. The Monster Garage crew originally wanted to use the air field next to the memorial, but officials in Dare County said no. |
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 Jesse James signing fireman's helmet |
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Upon
arrival at Maple Airport in Currituck County, Jesse greeted the airport
staff and signed autographs. In attendance with Jesse was actor Ross Mathews,
also known as Ross the Intern and news staff from the Tonight Show. About
200 dedicated fans stood outside in the cold for several hours for a chance
to see the Monster Car crew and Jesse in person. |
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 Ro ss Mathews, also known as Ross the Intern interviewing fans. |
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In
the interlude, Mr. Panoz with his chief engineer John Leverett introduced
the press to an identical but stock 2002 Esperante. Mr. Panoz wrapped
up his presentation by giving several press members an exciting ride spinning
doughnuts on the airport tarmac. The Sheriff of Currituck County took
a few spins as well. |
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Mr. Panoz and
chief engineer John Leverett |
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After
the flights, Jesse drove the auto-plane to the tarmac for photos. He told
the press "It felt like flying.” Jesse then walked over to
the cheering crowd that had been assembling throughout the day and signed
autographs. |
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 Fans cheering Jesse on |
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 Just before take off |
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 Yes, Jesse James is Flying |
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 Jesse Flying even higher higher |
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 Jesse and Mr. Panoz |
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 Jesse greeting his fans |
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 Follow-up press conference |
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At
the follow up press conference, Jesse was asked what was going through
his mind as he sped down the runway. With a short pause, he said he thought
he might crash. He said the feeling he got when the car left the ground
was similar to the thrills of riding motocross. Everything gets real smooth.
When asked what’s next, Jesse said this would be hard to top. He
said he was committed to another season of Monster Garage and several
cool projects before he went back to his day job. Jesse was charismatic, friendly and a very entertaining performer. His down to earth presence won him and the Monster Garage many new fans on the Outer Banks. |
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 Two close-ups of the car- plane |
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 Ross Mathews better known as "Ross the Intern" and the editor |
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