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In 1998, declining health forced Dennis Polen to consider either selling his Special II or donating it to a museum. Richard Keyt, a former Air Force F-4 pilot and current American Airlines captain, wanted the plane. He convinced Dennis that it would be better to sell to someone who would continue to fly it than to have it retired to some museum. Dennis sold his his Special II to Richard Keyt in 1998. At the time, the plane had been sitting in a hangar unused for five years. Said Richard:

There was a lot of work to do. We changed both mags, installed a different propeller—really went over the engine and airframe. One day when we were about three-quarters done and beginning to put the plane back together, I saw Dennis kiss his fingers and touch the spinner. I asked him if that was a ritual of some sort and he said, 'No, I'm saying goodbye.' That was hard, really hard for me as well as for him. -- Richard Keyt, from an October 1998 Sport Aviation article.

In May 1998, Richard experienced severe rudder flutter during a high speed pass. The rudder was damaged but Richard landed safely. The aluminum rudder was replaced with a carbon fiber composite rudder. In October 2000, Richard was forced to land with the left gear stuck up. As you can see, the airplane has been repaired. Kudos to Richard for keeping this legendary airplane flying.

Well, this marks the end of my scrapbook for this year. I have a final picture and some parting words on the next page.