> The most impressively bizarre and *apparently* dangerous feat of 
> flying that I've ever seen (photo only so far).
> 
> You'd have to think this photo was a makeup but odds are its real**.
> Don't try this at home (even if you have a Sukhoi G-SIID).
> 
>     http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/airshow05/riat05/partone/curtis.jpg
>
> I suspect that the level of skill and / or bravery required by all 
> concerned must be rather less than it appears.

It seems likely to be real to me.  I recall seeing Art Scholl using
his verital fin / rudder to cut a ribbon supported by ~10 foot poles.
I saw it at several airshows back in the early/mid 1980s.

> Apparent motion blur of poles, if this is real, is caused by an 
> impressive feat of camera focusing, a long lens at large aperture

This is common when tracking a fast moving object by panning the
camera during the exposure.  It's so common that Canon's image
stabilizer systems in long lenses have a mode (switchable) that
supports horizontal panning while doing vertical stabilization.

						Lee Jones

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