All this is amazing, took me a while to read through it. I suggest making the plane hang on its rear wheels for a short period while it's leaving the ground?
I think the fire should be engulfed in smoke much earlier as the brush on the ground starts to burn. That might make the little bits of random particles coming off look more realistic.
Hmmm, I'm just a nub, but i really wanna know if this is possible. Couldn't you just select the streatched parts and project a new map into there and have it blend to the other map so it's smooth?