P.S. - Our Safe Return

In case you are checking to see whether or not we made it home. We got to Cleburne Wednesday about 11:00 am. Our strategy of the weather not being so volatile in the morning hours paid off. We filed IFR leaving Monroe at 8:00 a.m. and just filed to Tyler. The weather began to look better as we neared Tyler - looked like Cleburne was in the middle of a “C” of rain - so we extended our flight plan to Cleburne. Our initial clearance was Cedar Creek VOR (southeast of the Metroplex) to Ranger VOR (northeast of Cleburne and in the center of the Metroplex) to Cleburne. The Ranger jaunt not only would have taken us into weather but the delay getting to Cleburne would have jeopardized our getting in before part of that “C” closed in on the airport. Eventually, we were handed off to Regional Approach, and he agreed to change our routing. We then asked for lowest altitude (2300’). We had been keeping up with Cleburne’s weather through their AWOS. It had gone from clear to 3400’ to 2300’ to 1500’. As soon as I saw a good opening in the clouds, I popped down through it and told Julia to cancel IFR. Once we could see the ground, I was amazed at the amount of standing water in the fields. There was one area that I pointed out to Julia and told her that, despite how it looked, there was no river there. The wind was gusty, but landing was no problem. It surely was good to be on the ground…and home. It was even better seeing my husband’s smiling face as we were getting out of the plane. Julia transferred all of her belongings into her plane, checked the weather again, called Charles to pick her up, filed an IFR flight plan, and was off to Austin. She said she was in the clouds and it was bumpy the whole way, but she made it just fine.

I laughed to read her email yesterday, “How does it feel to be back home? I'm in a sort of stupor. Don't think I should use any power saws today.”

Our feet are back on the ground now, but it was an amazing adventure that we will treasure. Thanks to all who shared it with us through this blog.

Post Race & Farewell

Our husbands are wanting to hear a post-race analysis. So, as we are sitting in scenic and exciting Monroe, LA waiting to find an opening in the huge area of rain perched over central and eastern Texas to get home, we decided to oblige. Here are the stats of interest:



First-time teams - 15

• Our ranking among first-time teams - 5th


• First-time teams in top 10 - only 1. That team was comprised of a delightful pair of airline pilots with a total of 21,000 hrs. between them.


• First-time teams that received an incomplete - 5

Good airplanes to fly.

• Hard to answer because experience and ground support also played a part, but these are the airplanes in the top 10


• 6 - Cessna 182 (230 or 235 HP)


• 2 - Grumman Tiger (180 HP)


• 1 - C-172S (180 HP)


• 1 - Piper Warrior (160 HP) (This was the Purdue team that had mega ground support)

See, Honey, I really DO need that 180 hp engine conversion

Did on-board radar made a difference? HUGE DIFFERENCE. It is very likely we would not have finished the last leg without it, and there would have been 12 incompletes instead of 11. Because every day of the race had weather issues, the radar gave us the ability to see and avoid the worst of it. The GPS was also very helpful in other ways - like getting lined up for the fly-bys. One runway was turf and another was closed. Even the regular runways were sometimes hard to locate. Going around a thunderstorm at Elmira put a big hill between us and the runway. I had a hard time lining up even with the GPS - it would have been impossible without it since we could not see the airport. The terrain/obstruction feature also was a great comfort since we were flying as low as we were.

Last question was whether it was better to fly high for winds or low. Again, hard to tell for sure, but my guess is low (and the experienced pilots aren't tellin'). The two legs we did very well on were flown very low. I can tell you that the bugs on the airplane were the very worst in Nebraska. Low flying does have its disadvantages.

Glen asked if we were going to do it again. We're already planning. Race route will be Bozeman, Montana to Mansfield Massachusetts. If Margaret Ringenberg, at age 86, is still able to come in 5th, we figure we're in for a few more good years. If you are interested in reading more about her, she has written two books - Girls Can't Be Pilots, which she authored, and Maggie Ray, World War II Air Force Pilot, by Marsha J. Wright, a biography.

Thank to all of you who joined in with comments. Hearing back from you made it much more fun for us.

Now, if we can just get home.

Arlene & Julia

Awards!!

The Awards Banquet gives recognition and prizes to not only the top 10 teams but also to the top four for each leg. Guess what!?! Julia and I were in 2nd Place on Leg 5 which was Bowling Green, Kentucky to Lewisberg, West Virginia! AND....we were in 4th Place on Leg 7 which was Elmira, New York to Burlington, Vermont! We couldn't believe it. We finished 24th overall and received $60 in prize money (about 1/2 tank of fuel) and the little medallions we are showing off in the picture. The non-monetary rewards of successfully meeting the challenge of a very challenging race and the friendships formed are immeasurable.

Remember Team 49, the team from Indiana State University to whom we have grown close, were the last ones to get through the weather on the last day with only 2 minutes left before the deadline? They received the $100 prize for coming in last. BUT, they also won two leg prizes, so we were very proud of them, too. They finished 35th, but there were 10 teams that didn't make the deadline.

One funny happening. You may recall that because Team 1, our Mother Bird team, had fallen behind, we were able to call them to pick up our packet of charts we had left behind at Bowling Green. Evidently, others began calling as well, so at the debrief session this morning, they "auctioned" back to the owners their left-behind belongings (proceeds going to Air Race Classic). It was all very funny, but it cost us $40 to get our charts back. So, on our afternoon outing to the Reversing Falls, I found a rhinestone pin in the shape of an airplane on the ground. Had to be one of the racers. I gave it to the MC at the banquet who made the announcement and held up the pin. It was Patty's - one of our Mother Birds!!! Julia and I jumped up and insisted that she "buy" it back. We all had a good laugh at the irony. Patty is showing her "redeemed" pin in the picture.

Our flight plan is filed with Canadian Flight Service, and our customs form has been faxed to Bangor. Time to pack and try to make it home. Weather in Ohio tomorrow.

R & R

Time for a little R & R. On Friday night, the race event was a "Meltdown Party" - a reception at the New Brunswick Museum, Hall of the Great Whale, close to our hotel. The mayor of St. John was there to welcome the racers. The museum curator spoke of the history of the area and explained the history of the Right Whale, so named because it was the "right" whale for sailors to kill for food and oil. A baleen whale was often found at the surface and was slow to turn and move - making it easy prey. It is estimated this species is about 20 years from extinction. The MOST interesting part was the display of the baleen plates the whales have instead of teeth. The whales filter the krill through the baleen plates, lick the krill off the back side and simultaneously push the water back out. It is amazing that this process can result in their consuming several tons of krill per day. It was difficult to get a good picture, but you can make it out through the reflections in the glass.

Julia and I were in slow motion on Saturday, since we were no longer in race mode, but we did manage to do the basics of flight planning for our trip home. We will be facing headwinds on the westerly trip. With Great Circle navigation we start out with a heading of about 270 degrees and end up with a heading of 225 degrees for the direct route. If we were able to fly with no wind (chances of that are about 1 in 1000) and without stopping, it would take about 16 hours to fly from St. John to Cleburne. There will be about 45 planes attempting to leave tomorrow morning (Monday) and no one can take off before 8:00. The morning weather is forecast to be good but not the afternoon and Tuesday is worse. So, ALL of us will be wanting to take off as quickly after 8:00 as possible.

St. John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada. It is picturesque, especially when it is not raining. Tremendous history and lots to see and do. There are three cities in New Brunswick - one is French (Francophone, as we learned), one is Anglophone, and St. John is mixed.

























Our race activity for the day was to attend the first time racers debrief - first timers opportunity to critique the race. The main complaint was the weather which is hardly the fault of the race committee. However, planning a race to a location that has frequent bad flying weather AND treacherous terrain was perhaps not a good choice. All said, this race is an amazing logistical feat, and we have great appreciation for the race committee and all the many volunteers it takes to put on the race.

No one is saying a word about their score - which we find odd. Guess we will find out tonight who won this year. We're just proud to have finished. Only one team got in after us - Team 49 from Indiana State went by the timing line 2 minutes before the deadline. Way to go, girls! The other three who landed because of the thunderstorms didn't get to St. John until the next day.

The optional race activity that we signed up for was sea kayaking. 17 of us went on that adventure and had a great time. And, the weather was???.......rain, of course. We had fun anyway.


















Aren't we lovely in our kayaking skirts? Color coordinated, too.


















We kayaked to see some caves created by the ocean washing out the sandstone. Very pretty. The fishing boats were coming back into the harbor when we returned.


Several people have asked that we continue the blog for the trip home which we will do as long as time and Internet connection permit. The race is over, though, so it will just be anything interesting that we encounter on the flight home.

Some have reported back that it is difficult to comment. I understand that the easiest way is to sign in as Anonymous and the just put your name at the bottom of the post. Please write us back, we love to read the comments.

Dr. Stan wrote on the comments: Is 70 too old to start flying? Definitely not! When I was flying competition aerobatics in my earlier years, one of the competitors had just learned to fly aerobatics and he was 72. Of the competitors in the Air Race Classic, many are in their 70s and at least 2 are in their 80s. Go for it! The only thing you cannot do is compete in the All Women's Air Race Classic.

The Finish Line!!!

We made it!!! We certainly didn't win this year, but we are excited to report that we did make it to terminus. We were about #30 to land but will not find out our ranking until tomorrow night. Even the last leg was plagued with weather.

We took off this morning - in the rain. 19 planes made it to St. John yesterday. This morning, we were one of 15 planes to leave Bangor at about the same time - around 9:00 Central. 11 of us made it to St. John before the deadline and 4 diverted because of thunderstorms. A few more were still behind us in Elmira, so it is highly unlikely they will make it in today, but they plan to come on for the banquet tomorrow night.

Though it was raining, Bangor weather was not terribly bad. You can see from the picture that the ceiling was reasonably high. We had to go back to Pittsfield to fly the timing line and then on to St. John. There was only a small window of opportunity for getting into St. John because of the weather, and the group decided before take off, it would be safer to let the faster planes go first so they would not be overtaking the slower planes. We organized ourselves by handicap, and that meant we were next to last to take off. We flew at 1500' most of the way to stay below the clouds - only climbing to clear the hills.



We could see the storms ahead on our GPS. About 60 miles out, we began diverting to the north to try to come in behind the cells, which were moving VERY slowly to the southeast. As we got closer, four planes ahead of us turned back to land at Princeton to wait out the storm. That is a racer's very sad decision to make, because the clock keeps ticking while you're on the ground. But, landing safely is the most important concern.

Our plan to go around to the north had one problem. Julia was very busy trying to keep up with our location on the sectional chart. Just in time, she saw that there was a restricted area! Since we do not have Canadian airspace on our GPS, it did not show up as we were accustomed to. Flying into that, even accidentally, would have caused us much time talking with the Canadian military. So, now, we're avoiding thunderstorms and restricted airspace.



After circling a few minutes, we decided to try to make it though between two thunderstorms. The one on our left had lightening, so we stayed as far away from it as we could. Flight Service was reporting that the thunderstorms were Level 3, and our satellite weather was showing red centers. We agreed that at the first sign of turbulence, we would turn around. The adrenaline was pumping as we forged on through the clearer area, and we breathed a sigh of relief to see better weather on the other side. I think we were the last to make it. 11:19 CDT.





Canadian volunteers met the airplane and took us in to the temporary customs that had been set up for the race. We got our passports stamped to prove we were in Canada.

They had a bit of lunch for us. Julia went to get our rent car, and I went out to tie down the airplane (this is why we had to bring our own stakes and tie downs). As I walked out to the plane, it started to rain......again. Tie down, unload the plane, and drive into town.....in the rain. But, it didn't matter a whit to us. We were successful in completing our first Air Race Classic!

Day Three

As Crocodile Dundee would say, "THIS is fog." Sure enough, the locals predicted well. On our way to the airport this morning, the fog began to thicken. We knew it was just a layer and clear on top, but there was no taking off until it met the rule of 1500' ceiling and 3 miles visibility.






We waited out the fog along with everyone else who spent the night in Lewisburg, but it turned out to not be too bad. Planes started taking off --- in order of signing the RON (Remain Over Night) list as prescribed in the rules - about 9:00 AM.





Can't say the flight from Lewisberg to Elmira was uneventful. After biting the bullet to climb all the way to 9500' in search of better winds, which is quite a chore for a C-172, we began experiencing an unexplainable loss of power about 45 min into the flight. We lost 200 RPM and a little more than 20 kts of airspeed. For you pilots, yes, I checked for carburetor icing, loss of oil pressure, both mags, etc. After troubleshooting and finding nothing, we turned to an alternate airport. Miraculously, about 1,000' of descent later, the engine RPM returned to normal and never gave us any more trouble....thankfully.


Next, take a look at the Nexrad weather for Elmira. A big cell just off the south end of the runway. When we arrived, we had to go around the worst of this weather, which put us at a very awkward intercept for final for the fly-by.

At Elmira, Ruby's age was finally revealed to us by a reporter. At 89, she is the oldest racer with Margaret, age 86, close behind. Ruby had airplane problems and was having a voltage regulator overnighted by her husband in Arizona. Hopefully, it gets repaired in time to complete the race tomorrow, but it will be tight.


Burlington, Vermont was not much better - weather wise. We had just about decided to RON because it is such a pretty place - on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain - but guess everyone else in the country decided the same - no room at the inn.











We had plenty of time to make Bangor, Maine if we left immediately but only a small window of opportunity. Weather was moving in fast from the northwest, and some of it looked pretty severe. I doubt anyone else could get into Burlington after we left. You can see from the picture how things looked for our fly-by to begin the leg to Bangor - raining again. We were in and out of weather all day - having to divert, go around mountains instead of over because the ceilings were too low - so no telling how badly we destroyed our trip time. And, we were flying over some pretty rough terrain. Not only was it heavily forrested, but where there were clearings, they looked like marsh. Not good places to land if you have an engine problem. Grateful we've made it this far and still enjoying the race a lot. We will find out Saturday night at the banquet how well we did. We've already learned much about racing cross country and also learned that we don't know enough! I've never flown full throttle anytime but take-off ---- now, I don't know if I will be satisfied with less than that!?!



The fly-by for Bangor had to be off airport because of all the military flying at the airport. The ARC committee chose Pittsfield airport which was on the way - about 20 miles out. We were especially grateful for the GPS. It would have been difficult to find that little airport without it.

At last, a landing in clear, blue sky. Bangor surely did look good.

Tomorrow is St. John and the end of the race.

Day Two

We flew over some beautiful country today, and I have a feeling that is what we will be saying for the rest of the trip. This picture was typical of Kentucky. The flight from Jefferson City to Bowling Green was uneventful. We got to fly at a higher altitude than any previous segment and had good ground speed. Again, wonderful hospitality met us at both stops. However, while we were on the ground there, I was watching the screen when the Surface Analysis Prog chart changed --- and not for the better in Vermont and New Hampshire. Our plan was to go to Elmira, NY and Burlington, VT tomorrow. Looks like we had better push through to Bangor if we can make it. Complicating the situation is that we have discovered the weather at Lewisberg is almost always fog in the mornings. If we cannot leave here until noon tomorrow, flying only two legs today may prove to be a tactical error. We'll be praying for NO FOG.

This photo was of West Virginia when we were not in the strip mining areas. We flew low from Bowling Green, KY to Lewisberg, WV to stay out of headwinds up high. It was a challenge to spot the airport coming in from the west. The ARC plane in front of us was reporting that the airport was not in sight at her 5 mile check-in. We were fortunate that a Hawker coming in from the south was in front of us, so we just followed him to the runway. Unenventful except for a couple of absent-minded problems we created for ourselves. I had failed to get the remainder of the U.S. info on my data card for the Garmin GPS, and Julia left our charts at Bowling Green. We were both rescued. The owner of Fox Aviation - on the field - had the downloading device I needed to solve my problem (blessing upon blessing to Alvin Fox), and our Mother Bird team is bringing our charts. We got one of the last motel rooms in the town by making reservations early in the day, so all is well.

We have heard that one team turned back because of weather on the very first leg and is now stranded in OK City. The weather may never clear up there. Another team ran over a sign at Jefferson City and did substantial damage to the airplane. One of the college teams had their carbon monoxide warning go off, but they have checked it twice and can't find a problem. The 86-year old is still way out there ahead of the pack, and none of us is surprised.

Till tomorrow.

Day One

Up at 4:30 AM for the mandatory final briefing at 6:00. They served us breakfast, which made it much better. There have been lots of questions at these briefings - probably because there is a record number of first-time teams at 20. That was not the case this morning, though. Everyone was ready to take-off.

At the airport, we are getting a ride to our airplane, with all of our stuff.

The weather was forecast to be very low IFR in Kansas, but McCook, Nebraska was supposed to be good. Next ---- Take Off!!! Our turn came about 8:45. "Classic 34, cleared for take-off." We stayed low over the runway for the timer and then were given clearance for right turn, on course.

The enroute weather had everyone sweatin' bullets. Communication between planes on 122.75 was busy with the first teams giving regular weather updates to those following. Kansas was okay (not good, but okay) but McCook was now reporting low IFR. We ALL breathed much easier when the first teams began sending the word that the clouds were dissipating and that we were going to be able to make it in. We received quite a nice welcome upon arrival - good service and sandwiches. After the 3 hour flight, the pilots were hungry and thirsty. Great hospitality and then back in the air.

Next stop - Denison, Iowa. They were a bit challenged on fueling since the didn't have a truck, but you can see from the picture that we all lined up and pulled the planes forward with our tow bars. Worked well. Again, a little food and water.

I fuel, pay for the fuel, and get the bugs off the airplane while Julia closes, files, and opens flight plans (all of which are required to be done on the ground) and checks the weather.

The fly-bys are a hoot! The directions are very specific - announce 10 miles out, 5 miles out, turn on all strobes and landing lights, be wings level at 1 mile out, and fly full power 200 feet off the ground to the timing line. The procedure is repeated after you take off to begin time for the next leg. Planes are everywhere in the air and on the ground.

Last leg took us to Jefferson City, Missouri. The man running the flight line took our picture with the state capitol in the background. (Don't look too close at the picture of us.) The view on downwind for landing was beautiful. I was also very impressed with southwest Iowa. Very pretty.

We're exhausted, so that's it for tonight. Tomorrow - Bowling Green, Kentucky and Elmira, New York. Headwinds forecasted.

12 hrs before the race begins

Monday: This morning we awoke to a newspaper article in The Oklahoman about the Air Race Classic - http://newsok.com/article/3067685




- and this out the window








We were so glad to hear the weather briefer tell us that it should be gone by tomorrow about 11:00. We're supposed to take off starting at 8:00 AM. That may or may not happen, but at least we know that the race WILL start tomorrow. Looks like we will be behind this weather system - at least for the first two legs.



We spent ALL morning in briefings. This is complicated stuff! What we thought was going to be free time today turned into flight planning until time to go to bed.

My daughter, Sarah, finished our performance Excel spreadsheet just in time. We can plug in the winds aloft and better judge whether or not it is worth climbing to altitude.

To bed early (well, at least by 10:00). Up early to check out, go to the mandatory 6:00 am breakfast/briefing, and off to the airport for take-off starting at 8:00 (weather permitting).

Last night's start banquet

Yesterday we attended a first-time racer's meeting and then spent the rest of the day flight planning on our own.

The start banquet was held last night at our hotel. It was attended by the racers, ARC members, some spouses, sponsors, state officials and numerous 99s members who have hosted us.

Arlene and I finally got out of those red shirts.

The racers were introduced and we learned that there are several college teams, a mother-daughter team, a pregnant woman, and a woman who celebrated her 86th birthday yesterday - to name a few.

Margaret Ringenberg (the birthday girl) has accumulated more than 40,000 hours in the cockpit since 1945. She was a WASP, and gave Tom Brokaw a flight lesson when he interviewed her for his book, "The Greatest Generation".

The race team from Western Michigan University shared our table last night.

Also teams from Purdue University, Kansas State University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Central Missouri State University are competing

The racers come from all over the US and from all backgrounds and occupations. We've met pilots, air traffic controllers, flight instructors, an FBO owner, a corporate CEO, an engineer, educators, a heavy equipment operator - an incredably diverse lot. However, we're all focused on the same goal now.

The Air Race Classic 2007 has honored the career of Louise Thaden, the woman who won the 1929 race. Thought you might like to see the plane she flew in that race. It is displayed in the 99s Museum of Women Pilots here in Oklahoma City.

Whew! Passed Inspection.

Most of the morning was spent with inspections. The aircraft and ALL the aircraft documents passed without problem. Thank you, Sam. Next was the pilot credentialing. Julia and I met all the requirements except presenting our set of the rules, which they said we could bring by later.


A word of warning from some of the experienced pilots made us decide that perhaps we might need hats after all, so it was off to Academy. We also bought a hammer with which to drive tie down stakes into the ground and a clipboard.


This afternoon, the Air Race Classic hosted the area Girl Scouts who had achieved their aviation badge or were working on it. The event was at the Omniplex Science Museum and featured a presentation from Terry von Thaden, granddaughter of Louise Thaden who won the first Women's Air Derby in 1929. Also in 1929, she became the first pilot to hold the women's altitude, endurance, and speed records in light planes simultaneously - a record that has never been broken. Pretty interesting history lesson. Each team then told about themselves. We have a pilot from New Zealand and ages from college to close to 90. The Purdue team was quite impressive and brought out that Amelia Earhart, who was in the first race with Thaden, had been an instructor at Purdue and was in a Purdue aircraft when she went down.


Later we returned to the Omniplex for an ARC reception. Of course, we were in the aviation section. Finally, our Mother Bird team arrived in OK City just in time for the reception. They had been weathered in at Graham, TX and had to get special permission for a late arrival. In addition to weather, they had also lost a vacuum pump. They will get that fixed and be ready to go on Tuesday morning.


The rest of the evening was spent in flight planning.

Off to the Races!

This is what greeted me as I arrived at the airport by car this morning. Rain, rain, and more rain. I was worried about Julia being able to get into Cleburne before a big storm hit from the northwest, but she arrived about 20 minutes early and beat the storm.

Take-off was scheduled at 11:00 am. You can see that it was raining hard at that time.

Simple solution: Just take Sam and Betty Ball to lunch. Sam has been wonderful helping get the airplane ready for this race. When we got back after lunch, the good 'ole Texas weather had vastly improved. Sam topped off the tanks, and away we go! But, we were still worried about how far we would be able to get before weather became a problem again. The low pressure was sitting right on top of our route, churning thunderstorms from the northwest in Texas and from the southeast in Oklahoma. Our onboard satellite weather showed storms around OK City.

Thought those of you in the Fort Worth area would enjoy the picture of downtown. We made it to the Red River in surprisingly good weather.

Here's the rain again. You can see from the GPS

that we had a big area of rain. Fortunately, by deviating slightly to the east, we were able to avoid the worst of it.

We finally saw Wiley Post Airport on the other side of the small lake.

The race committee was there to greet us and get us registered. Last, but not least, we applied the numbers to the airplane and removed the bugs who had lost their lives on the leading edges of the airplane. Off to the motel to plan for tomorrow and look over charts. More planning.....and working on the blog!

Packing. We leave tomorrow!

Emery, it may be time for those prayers you mentioned. The weather forecast is marginal tomorrow for the flight to OK City - thunderstorms all day, all along the route. Julia has moved up her arrival time (10:00 am) to meet me in Cleburne in order for us to try to hit the 2:00-5:00 window of opportunity predicted by the weather websites for our arrival. Glad we gave ourselves extra time - thank you, Mother Birds, for telling us that. We MUST be in OK City by 11:00 am. Saturday or we will be disqualified.

Julia saw on the website that there will be 49 teams participating.

Maybe for next year's race??? You think it's got enough room for our shoes?

.