* The moment at the beginning when Dusty's first attempt at entering the race lands him in sixth place.
* The story of how Skipper lost his squadron at Glendal Canal.
** Skipper in general, really. He's an old war veteran who hasn't flown since [[spoiler: he lost his squadron, and he spends most of his time being wheeled around by Sparky with his wings in the stowed position, signifying his being grounded]]. One of his scenes is him sitting at the end of the runway looking up at a clear sky, and for a moment, just [[HopeSpot for a moment]], he seems to find the motivation to take to the air again. He opens his wings, revs his engine...[[BaitAndSwitch and then just seems to give up, re-folding his wings and asking Sparky to wheel him back inside]], with Sparky commenting that "it's not a good night for flying anyways..."

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