Race Day 4 - Terminus

Up early again and engine going by 6:30 am. We still had the final three legs to make - Carbondale, Illinois to Elkhart, Indiana to Parkersburg, W. Virginia, and to terminus at Frederick Maryland. We were successful in completing the race, but unsuccessful in our strategy. Our time was so bad on the first leg for today that we lost the points we had built up and feel pretty certain we are out of the running.

It was a most enjoyable trip, though. The scenery is simply beautiful - from the rivers and lakes to the hills of West Virginia. Our last leg took us over the Allegheny Mountains and into Maryland. Lots of nuclear power plants.

The winner of the favorite airport name contest was the North Central West Virginia Airport.

Speaking of winners - Team 29 has to be given The Most Determined Team prize. At Waycross, Georgia - the very first stop on Day 1, Sandi & Heather developed engine problems. The airport was so small, there was no mechanic on the field. A volunteer, Mitch, from an airport 40 miles away where he and his wife run a FBO came over and started working on the problem. Now, it's Day 2. Turns out the carburetor needed serious work. Mitch was also an EMT and got a call which turned into several calls. Meanwhile, he helped them find the necessary part. Another man volunteered to fly Heather to another airport to pick up the part, and Mitch had returned when they got back. The volunteer pilot was also an auto mechanic. He and Mitch worked until 9:30 that night to get the repairs done, Heather test flew the airplane and got it signed off, and they left Thursday morning at 6:30. They flew four legs in one day in a plane much slower than Julia's. We were delighted to see them on the ramp this morning at Carbondale getting ready to go. They had landed 20 minutes before "legal" sunset the night before and made it to terminus today with only 40 minutes left before the deadline. When Sandi and Heather showed up tonight at the "Meltdown Party", everyone stood and cheered. They had started the race calling their team the Warrior Women and said they had earned the title on this, their first race.

There will be activities for the next two days plus sight seeing in between. The banquet on Sunday night will be where the winners are announced and we get to see everyone's score. We'll let you know then which of the 51 teams won.

Race Day 3 - The Chess Game

We were up early, early for departure - hoping for the best winds. We left the hotel at 5:45 so we could be in the air at the first "legal" time - 6:30 a.m. George is both the owner of the Acorn Inn, where we stayed, and a volunteer driver for the Air Race. He was up early to drive us to the airport in spite of being at a swim meet last night that lasted until 11:00 pm.

Becky and Robin are using the same weather person, so we ended up traveling along together and having lots of fun together. They are flying Robin's Cirrus and have a 13 kt. advantage over us, but we have a fuel capacity over them. Since our strategy is almost the same, the competition between our two teams will be who coaxes the better performance out of their plane, I suppose.

We crossed the Missouri River two more times. This photo showed the flood stage well.

We had to take a picture of the GPS. It was the best ground speed we've seen on the whole race - 162 knots. Didn't last long, but it was beautiful for a while.

If you were following on SPOT, I turned it off before it sent the signal for the Carbondale Airport. For a while, the track stopped in a field. Sorry, we didn't mean to alarm anyone. I turned it back on at the motel. Now, it looks like we landed in the Hampton Inn parking lot.

More waiting, and more waiting. Okay, since we didn't have anything to do, we decided that we may as well go get a pedicure. To embellish on our fashion photo yesterday, Classic 7 team had their toenails painted blue to match their airplane & shirts. We, Classic 15, went for purple. Cristen said that if your toenails don't match your transportation, you're not really girls. We agreed.

Now for the race strategy. Yes, in spite of two days of little or no activity, we are still in the Air Race. Our delays have not been because the weather was too bad to fly. Instead, we have been waiting on optimal winds. Mikeal said this is more like a chess game than a race, and that is a very good description. Just like in a chess game, you have to get everything set up for the kill. We are really hoping that we have everything in place. Tomorrow morning, we hope to leave again at sun up. If we have played our cards right, we will be able to make all three remaining legs and arrive at Frederick, Maryland with the best time. We think there are only three planes at the airport here in Carbondale, so we are definitely in the minority with this strategy. Right now, we just hope to make it without incident to Terminus.

Race Day 2

This is what happens when women are left unsupervised at the airport all day with marginal cell service and sporadic internet service. This artistic rendition is called "Teva Moment." You are probably wondering who the outlier is - the one with green Tevas instead blue. Yes, it is Julia. And look. She is not even standing with her feet side-by-side like everyone else.

Obviously, we were pretty bored today. The airplane was ready, and we were more than ready. But, our weather briefer thought our chances for better wind would be tomorrow morning. It is a high risk game at this point. We are only 1/2 way and the worst weather is still ahead of us. Our big position advantage has disappeared. 90% of the teams went on, but if our gamble is right, we will make better time tomorrow. And, IF we can complete the entire race and do so with a better time, it will have been a good decision. Otherwise....we'll try again another year.

Our decision to stay was finally made about 2:30, so we came back to the Acorn Inn along with two other teams. We will meet in the lobby at 5:45 am to be ready for a 6:30 take-off. We really, really, REALLY hope to be able to get in the air.

Race Day 2

All is well with the airplane. Paul, the mechanic, got the vacuum pump replaced exactly as advertised. However, the weather is not giving us optimal winds/thunderstorm probability. We're currently waiting and waiting.

Racer's final briefing and breakfast - a good early start, especially considering that there were 51 teams to get in the air.
By the end of the day, we were very grateful for that big breakfast.

That was also a lot of people to the airport, but everyone was in their airplane and ready to start by 8:00 a.m. We were off by 8:30 (7:30 Central) and on our way to Waycross. Julia's traffic avoidance works only in the vacinity of the larger airports. We were very grateful that it was active almost the entire route to Waycross because that was, by far, the most congested with racers. We were overtaken once, but we also overtook another racer - something that never happened in my C-172.

We didn't have much of a tailwind, but it was enough that we didn't have to land at Waycross - "fly by to continue" was another first. Winds were not quite as good as forecasted, but considering all the bad wx around, our slight tailwind was welcomed.

Four hours after take-off, we arrived at Tuscaloosa for our first stop. Though we were hot and ready for a break, we quickly checked the weather, fueled the airplane, cleaned it up a bit, and once again tried to secure our numbers. Because Julia's airplane has slick paint and a good wax job, the adhesive won't stick. Or...it could be that we were going sooo fast through the sky that they couldn't stay on the airplane. We're using white contact paper to get the required 2" of white around the 3" numbers; now, we're using it to patch.

The blog comments were right on - we did try to forge on to Cameron. Combining legs three and four would be the tightest combination of any, so we were closely monitoring the fuel flow. The decision was made shortly before the Hot Springs fly-by that we could make it (barely) with our required 30 minutes reserve.

About 3 or 4 minutes after the fly-by, we lost our vacuum pump. Was not an issue that would ground us, but we definitely want to get it repaired. We were concerned that the maintenance shop would be shut down by the time we got to Cameron. I was able to send a text message to Cristen with instructions to call the airport with our request - airplane model & year - to see if they could repair or replace it. Cristen was at the end of a committee meeting when she received the text and told the others, "Sorry, I have to leave. I have to go order a vacuum pump for my mom." They were amused.

As we neared Kansas City, we were amazed at the flooding of the Missouri River.

We received a Royal Welcome at Cameron. Ladies walked out to the airplane with a tray of ginger ale and fresh, home-grown strawberries. We had flown low for better winds and were really, really hot and tired. What a delight they were. They had snacks (also welcomed since we had not had lunch) and drinks in the hangar.

The ladies even made our hotel reservations for us. The mechanic came in a few minutes. He didn't have the part in stock but he ordered it and had it shipped overnight. We should be ready to fly again by 10:00 a.m.


After Julia & I drew straws for the shower, we went in search of supper. The truck stop next door had pretty good food. Of course, we were so hungry, just about anything would have tasted good. We then discovered this lovely, huge garden right across the drive from our room. Great place to stay.

Days 4 & 5

What has happened to the time? Tomorrow is race day!!! It hardly seems possible.

Yesterday (Sunday) was our first briefing. I had great sympathy for all the new racers. It is soooo much information that you leave just hoping to be able to finish the race without being penalized or disqualified.

Speaking of new racers, this year there are 51 teams, well above the usual 40. Even more noteworthy, the usual composition is 2/3 returning racers and 1/3 new racers. This time it is just the opposite. It's made the briefings very interesting. The returning racers are asked to volunteer to be "mother birds" to the "baby birds." There must have been quite a number of babies who had no mama this year and then a few who didn't realize until yesterday just how much they needed their mama.

Our presenters are quite good and all very experienced racers. With great patience they answered lots of questions. The lady in the middle of this photo is Gretchen Jahn who headed up Mooney Aircraft Company for a few years. Standing at the mic is Marolyn Wilson, the president. All board members are volunteers. No one is paid in this organization, so we all greatly appreciate the sacrifice of time and money made to keep the race going. Guess it's been that way since 1929.

We spent the remainder of the day doing laundry and doing more flight planning. The Take-Off Banquet was last night. A few have said this race is like going to summer camp. That's a fairly good description. Lots of fun, lots of new friends, and lots of fierce competition.

Most of today was devoted to briefings - the fly-by instructions and waivers for each stop. Another new thing this year is the dual fly-bys. Oh, wow - should be interesting. The first stop is always the most congested since everyone had to take off at close to the same time. With all the new racers, Waycross, Georgia is likely to be a zoo. We were encouraged to "fly by to continue" rather than land if at all possible. In my airplane, it would not have been possible. But Julia's faster airplane and long-range fuel tanks makes it a possiblity if the winds treat us right. We're keeping our fingers crossed on that.

Spent the rest of the day re-packing for the race and shipping extra clothing and anything not absolutely necessary to the other end. We'll be minimalists for the race.

Final briefing tomorrow at 6:00 a.m.

Day 3

First order of the day was the handicap flight test - a new procedure to the race this year. Julia was scheduled for 9:00 am so we caught a ride to the airport about 7:30 to get the airplane ready. The requirements were very specific: full fuel, equivalent weight for co-pilot and test pilot (we were about the same), tie downs, 12 sectional charts, water bottles filled, and everything else out of the airplane. The flight test was conducted at 6,000' density altitude, aircraft trimmed and stabilized, and flight on the four cardinal headings for four or six minutes. Since there were so many airplanes doing the same thing, at one point the controller asked what they were doing and if there was a reason everyone had to be at the same altitude (4,900' MSL). He was having separation difficulty but allowed them to continue. We will probably find out our handicap on Monday.

There were lots of teams waiting in the terminal for flight tests, inspections, or to go through credentialing.

These ladies held team members lives in their hands. If your paperwork was not complete and up to FAA regulations, you would be disqualified. Ruby, who is now 92, had not yet received her laminated pilot certificate and only had her paper certificate. She was able to call the FAA, and they faxed a document that made her legal. Ruby is again the oldest, but Elaine is not far behind at 89. Both have had remarkable aviation careers.

At 2:00, we gathered back at the airport for a Girl Scout presentation and activities. We never knew what happened, but the Scouts didn't show up. Carolyn had asked various racers to talk about their aviation experiences, so she went ahead with the program. There are some VERY interesting women who participate in the Air Race. To pick out just three:

Becky Hempel is from Spicewood, Texas - one of the 14 pilots from Texas this year (four teams with another six teams having one member from Texas). Becky is currently a full time flight instructor while on furlough from FlexJet where she flew a Challenger 605 & various King Airs. She also works part time as a physician's assistant.

Christine is a graduate of and a current flight instructor for Southern Illinois University. She enlisted in the Air National Guard and will be going to Officer Training School in October. Christine also enjoys competitive handgun shooting. Her team is one of the nine college teams.

Another military pilot, a 16 year veteran, is Camille (Cami) from El Paso. She learned to fly as an Army helicopter pilot and then transitioned to aircraft. Usually, it's the other way around and Cami told funny stories about trying to bring an airplane to a hover when landing. She is now a King Air instructor at Fort Bliss. Her husband is also an Army officer.

Men from a local flying club, the Cub Club, volunteered to drive shuttles - Yukon's donated by Hertz for our use. When we didn't catch a ride with other racers, they were always available to take us back and forth - thankfully, since we had to be back at the airport for the third time for the Welcome BBQ 6:00. Just so you know, Floridians can actually BBQ quite well.

The mayor spoke and as a new pilot himself, he was quite entertaining.

Judy, pictured in the middle, is a director of the Air Race and participating in her 16th race. She and Ruby, also a director, finished second last year and have frequently been in the top ten. Sadly, this will be their last race. Judy is selling her airplane after this race, and she and her husband will be moving to a continuous care community. I would love to see them finish first this year.

Julia and I enjoyed visiting with the college teams; this is another Southern Illinois team - Katie and Ashley. One of our stops on the race will be to their home airport.




Race briefings start tomorrow at 10:00 am.

Day 2

As one would expect, the motel in Bogalusa didn't offer breakfast of any variety. Jerry, the taxi driver, delivered us back to the airport which was still deserted. I checked the weather and options for our flight plan while Julia attempted to fuel the airplane. Totally in keeping with the rest of our experience in Bogalusa, the self-serve pumps wouldn't work. We were just about to give up and hop over to another airport when the airport manager arrived. Thankfully, he was able to coax the pump back to life, and we were off.

The weather forecast had indicated that we would be in pretty good shape until, of course, Florida. The XM weather showed thunderstorms that stayed out in the Gulf as we passed over Mobile and Pensacola. Getting around the Pensacola military operations areas was interesting. You could either go considerably north or enter an east/west corridor that hugged the coastline. You can tell from our course on the Spot which we chose. Again, the address for the Spot is http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=4191, password shadow.

Some had expressed interest in the oil spill and the beaches around Pensacola, so we took pictures of the coastline. According to the NOAA website, Pensacola and points west have light oiling and to the east no observed oil. Though we were only 5500', it was very hazy, and we could not detect any oil. NOAA says it's just offshore.

As soon as we rounded the bend at Panama City, we could see building thunderstorms lined up along the western coast of Florida. There was one huge cell over Tampa that just kept growing in size and in severity. We were weaving through smaller, more isolated storms trying to push as far as we could before things got too bad. As that big cell kept growing, we had to fly farther and farther east to get around it. Finally, east and south of the cell, we felt comfortable landing long enough to fuel at Winter Haven. Short time on the ground, though long enough to ogle all the amphibious aircraft but not enough for lunch, and off again for the last 89 miles.

It was hard to tell from the chart whether this was a lake or a bay, but it is a bay – just north of the airport.

One of our greeters was Rhonda who flew with Terry Carbonell in 2007 – the first year to race for both teams. It was fun to be greeted by someone we knew. Terry is the energy and organization behind this year's race which is in her home country.

Julia had talked our friend, Vern, who was in charge into putting us on today's list for an inspection. No inspection without the numbers on the airplane, so we got right on it…..again, no time for lunch. It was soooo hot out on the ramp!!! One of the locals said it was 105 deg. You see that we survived and are now officially Classic 15.

It took only a few minutes to go through credentialing and Julia was ready for inspection. While she was in the inspection hangar, it started pouring rain. Our timing had been good, and we were glad to have all that behind us. A volunteer gave us a ride to the hotel – a wonderful and welcome change from Bogalusa. Nice hotel, nice shower, and finally our first meal of the day about 5:30.

Up early to go to the airport for the handicap flight.

Day 1

True to the title of our blog, today was a bona fide adventure after we landed. But, I’m ahead of the story.

As the chronicle of our 2010 race begins, we thought it appropriate to have our picture taken at Austin Bergstrom Airport. Julia decided to fly to Austin to pick me up rather than meeting in Waco so we could get started sooner to Mobile, AL. Afternoon thunderstorms along the Gulf threatened to build as the day went on. With the plane loaded and our water bottles filled, we were ready for take-off.

You can see, we didn’t make it out of Texas before the thunderstorms began to be a problem. The cumulus cloud tops kept getting higher and higher with what would soon be cumulonimbus clouds, pouring rain out the bottom. Crossing the Neches River, we diverted to the south to miss this one. We stayed high – 9500’-- where it is cool as long as we could but before we got to Baton Rouge, we had to descend to 3000’.

Flying over the Mighty Mississippi. 3000’ is great for picture taking.

The trouble begins. At the top of the screen is Mobile. Diverting to another airport was the only option. The best choice appeared to be Bogalusa, LA. We thought we would land, refuel, and go on to Mobile. Not so. The thunderstorm we had just gone around followed us to the airport. The best choice was to get the airplane tied down and seek shelter in the FBO. Good decision; the bottom fell out and it rained long and hard accompanied by lots of thunder and lightning. After checking every weather source we knew, we decided to spend the night. There were several airplanes tied down, but the airport was deserted – so, no one to ask about lodging and transportation. Julia found a motel on her iPhone, called, and they said they would come pick us up. Driving up to the Budget Inn, we look at each other – eyes getting larger all the time. The Indian couple had been so nice about picking us up, we were obligated to pay. Then, on our way to our room a car drove by, confirming that we really were at the Bates Motel and definitely not where we should be. The room was $40. Julia said she had never stayed anywhere that was only $40. I said I’d never stayed anywhere that didn’t charge any tax! We zipped across the street to grab something to eat at Popeye’s and called a taxi. Jerry, the taxi driver, was horrified, murmuring something about drugs and prostitutes. He was happy to take us to the best place to stay in Bogalusa. Nothing to write home about, but we will be able to sleep tonight. Jerry will be back at 6:00 AM to take us back to the airport.

BTW, you might not want to put Bogalusa, LA on your vacation list.

Another race coming!!!!

Julia and I are preparing for the 2010 Air Race Classic! You can read about the race on the sidebar to the right and at www.airraceclassic.org

The postings below chronicle the first two races. As with any blog, the postings are from most recent and down to the beginning.