Pictures from 6/20

Didn't have a chance to upload these before. Please be sure to read Alison's posts either before or after viewing the pictures. These are photos of our day in Goodland, Kansas waiting for the weather ahead to clear.

They have a giant Van Gogh replica painting in town!

Our baby birds from Liberty University....still smiling...that's a good sign!

 The racers huddled around a cell phone listening to a weather briefing update from our friend Dale

On this day the racers gave up their individual team shirts and became one unified team...Butterfly Aviation

The Eastern PA teams modeling their Butterfly Aviation t-shirts in front of a beautiful Cessna 195

Alice, the stop chair at Goodland was absolutely fabulous...as were all the folks who shuttled us to the hotels and to dinner. Special shout out to "Levi's gramma....Karen"

The timers hung out with nothing to do most of the day. A few planes left late in the day and made it to Nebraska.

Our plane had a small problem. We blew out a seal in the front strut...it was ready to blow on its own but a few hard landings in high winds sure didn't help it.

But have no fear....it was Levi to the rescue.

He fixed out strut and we were ready to fly...now only if the weather would cooperate.

While killing time we went to lunch at the Butterfly cafe.

Someone lost a donkey. We don't see too many of these signs in Philadelphia.

On our way back from lunch....and to think, they didn't even have any alcohol!

Here is what was keeping us in Goodland all day....Thunderstorms along our route.

Lots of people (not just our baby birds) took the time to catch up on some sleep.

......or to play some cards.....

Race day 3 - Vectors Wild 3, mother nature 1

Since we had an entire day on the ground yesterday, we all got up at 5am and arrived at Goodland airport at 6am sharp, in time for a 630am engines on start in order of our arrival at Goodland. In sharp contrast to Wednesday's weather, the sky was blue and clear without a breath of wind. The wind forecast was still very confusing in back of the front that passed through yesterday, so Linda and I took a calculated risk and climbed (very) high for some small tailwinds we thought we could find up there. We did not have them for as long as we would have liked.... But it was a very pretty leg with the blue skies and the fields stretching as far as you could see. We chose to fly legs 4 and 5 in one shot, so we headed North, and did the flyby at David City Nebraska without stopping for fuel, and zoomed straight on for Watertown South Dakota. We took this leg at low level and made good time, again with pretty rural scenery and little white puffy clouds along our route. Also many large flocks of snow geese, which are lovely but very large so quite alarming when they get too close. Did a quick turnaround at Watertown and headed off for Ashland Wisconsin.

Since we were now headed due East, we picked up some very nice tailwinds. The plane is doing very well now we are not in the mountains any longer, engine temps holding well and putting out a lot of speed now that the air is denser. Ashland was a lovely stop with a log cabin FBO where they were grilling bratwurst which were delicious. All this time Barbara and Ethel, Mary and Elaine were tracking along with us. We were all feeling pretty good, and decided to fly the fourth leg of the day (seventh overall) to Sault Sainte Marie Michigan on the Canadian border. Little did we know that the back end of that cold front was going to come back and bite us!!

We all set off due East again, with a beautiful but very bumpy late afternoon flight over the forests and lakes of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, along the side of Lake Superior. The cold front was sitting in a line just East of our destination, but the forecast for our route was fine. However on the way we noticed little areas of rain popping up on the radar, that seemed to be strengthening. The first teams to arrive at Sault Sainte Marie ahead of us reported heavy rain right over the airport. Three planes decided to land further back on the route and wait for the radar to clear up. The rest of us spent quite a few minutes circling in the VFR gap between the storm and clear of Canadian airspace, till the visibility cleared enough to fly the timing line and land in VFR conditions. But our times for this leg (and probably for the race overall) are totally blown!! To finish this eventful day, the six Eastern PA team members are having dinner in Sault Sainte Marie next to the St Mary River and within view of the bridge to Canada! We are going to console ourselves with shrimp and beer for our probably abysmal performance in leg 7, but will raise a toast to mother nature for always having the last word, and will plan for a fun and leisurely last two legs tomorrow! They are having a spectacular firework display on the Canadian side, which seems very apt.

Stuck!!! Really

Well, we followed the weather all day. A really nasty cold front was passing slowly across our entire route of flight, accompanied by thunderstorms, low ceilings, hail and rotation. By the time it started to clear out, the winds came around in back of the front to headwinds from the North. Furthermore, the margin of time to arrive at the next stop before official sunset became very tight. So we decided to stay in Goodland for another night. Mary, Barb, Ethel and Elaine are all still here too, as are the majority of the teams who came here last night. It just means that we'll have to fly like the wind to complete the remaining six legs in time for the race finish at 5pm Friday! It will make for an exciting next two days...

Stuck!! Part 2

True to form, our airplane decided it was time for an unscheduled maintenance stop even though we are a thousand miles away from our home field mechanic Kent. I noticed oil all over the nose wheel fairing, dripping onto the asphalt and down the strut. Fortunately Goodland has an excellent shop including chief mechanic John and newest member of the team Levi. We pulled the plane out of the wind into a hangar, and the guys determined that the O-ring seal on the nose wheel strut was blown. While we all ate lunch in the airport cafe along with the many racers still here, Levi and the team pulled the nose wheel (during which time the plane looked really pathetic!), cleaned it all up, replaced the O-ring and refilled with oil and air. Good to go! Thanks so much guys for your help. Meanwhile, the sky at Goodland is blue and cloudless (with gale force winds of course!), but we know that on the route forward it's low clouds and frontal thunderstorms. Someone sent Barb a photo of the ramp at Columbus which sits under a low grey overcast and is pouring rain in sheets. So here we still sit, looking for our window!

Stuck! - and new pictures in the 6/19 post

As is not uncommon on the air race, here at Goodland a whole bunch of racers is stuck on the ground waiting out weather. It's quite a complicated situation, as a NS cold front is passing very slowly East to the north of us, bringing low ceilings and occasional IFR conditions along the route. If we wait it out till this afternoon, the cold front will be close along our route and we'll have better ceilings but be contending with headwinds and scattered thunderstorms. Since this is a VFR race and filing IFR due to conditions en route constitutes automatic disqualification, we'd much rather contend with dodging thunderstorms in good vis than trying to stay 500 feet below dropping ceilings, so we are going to hang out till this afternoon and launch when we're sure. Either way, we're going to have to deal with 35 knot North winds on departure from Goodland, as the wind is still howling. In the meantime, the race ground crew has provided cookies and coffee, so all is good. PS check out the previous post again - Linda has added more great pictures this morning.

FINALLY UPLOADED THE PICTURES FROM YESTERDAY. SEE THE POST FROM 6/19

Race Day 1! - UPDATED WITH PICTURES 6/20

Well it's the end of race day one, and we are sitting in Goodland Kansas after a challenging day with three race legs and about 900 miles behind us. Let me recap... The morning started with a 630am briefing via Skype from our favorite meteorologist Dale (immortalized below in Linda's poem!). Then we drove over to the airport and loaded the planes in time for the 8am start. At this point, everyone is hugging everyone and wishing them well, but each racer also becomes very internalized and focussed on the task in hand. The starters signaled us to start our engines, then we taxied out in race number order to runway 32, where a very excited lady with a big green flag waved us off in closely spaced intervals. And off we went!

Since we are #5, we got off very early in the line and climbed as fast as we could go, zooming towards the mountains looming over Havasu. We had about a 9,000 foot climb to accomplish to keep us safe up in the higher ridges, which we did with no problems, and finally found ourselves over the same Arizona-New Mexico plains that we had navigated the previous week (except this time much faster and at much lower altitudes!). It was still early in the day so although it was over 90 degrees the ride was smooth, and again we were awed by the beauty of the scenery beneath us around Flagstaff and Sedona.

The race is flown with throttle and propeller controls full forward, to maximize power and speed, so a lot of the flight is taken up with engine management and ensuring that speeds and temperatures don't redline. Racers also have a lot of tricks to optimize performance, one of which is shutting all the air vents to minimize drag, so it's essential to drink tons of water to avoid dehydration. The first flyby was about 300 miles away at Gallup New Mexico. The purpose of the flyby is to set the time at the start and end of each leg. The timers are spotters who are located at a defined point on the ground at the airport, and in order that they can see you close enough to identify each aircraft, an FAA waiver is obtained in advance that allows the racers to fly at very low altitudes, usually 100 or 200 above ground level, as they pass over the timing line. To execute a flyby, the pilots have to descend to this altitude and fly a defined procedure, while keeping maximum speed up the whole time. This is a challenging flight profile, especially in the blistering heat of the SW and prairie winds which buffet the plane mercilessly this close to the ground. After thundering by the timing line and setting our own time as a backup, we reduce power and climb to pattern altitude, and allow the engine and the pilots to gradually cool off, before returning to the airport to land. First leg accomplished, we grabbed some food and drink, refuelled, added more oil and set off again on the second leg from Gallup to Hereford Texas.

Leaving Gallup was interesting since the airport elevation is about 6000 feet but the density altitude with the heat was over 9,000 feet. This means the engine has to be leaned on the ground and throughout the flight, and it takes forever to pick up enough speed to take off and climb. Now the day was starting to seriously heat up, and we reached some of the highest points of the entire race on this leg, including the dramatic 11,000 foot mountain range just E of Albuquerque that we got a good close look at as we flew by. We also started to pick up some significant tailwnds, which was nice. After this the mountains give way to arid plains that gradually start to show signs of agriculture. Hereford is surrounded by large cattle pens that can be seen (and sometimes smelled) from a long way away. We completed the flyby and landed again for fuel and water. Just as with everywhere we stopped, the ground crew were so helpful and enthusiastic. However the wind was gusting to 25 knots when we landed, and heat was intense.

The last leg of today was from Hereford to Goodland Kansas. By the time we did this leg in the afternoon, the effects of a day of intense heat were starting to become apparent, at least for me. The 270 mile journey was conducted in thick haze and baking heat over Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, but we got some kicking tailwinds which made up for it. At one point the GPS registered 199 knots! To take our mind off of our discomfort, Linda and I sang show tunes, and when we ran out of those we started on Christmas carols, and of course we had a rousing chorus of "Oklahoma!" when we passed over the state line. The final flyby of the day was tricky as the airport was very difficult to spot, and the winds were gusting even higher here, to 35 knots. Linda was pilot on this leg and did an awesome job landing. Here in the hotel, you can literally hear the winds howling outside. We did pass a couple race planes close by on the route. Racers communicate with each other on the radio to let each other know where they are, and to pass on helpful information, and to talk when they are passing. A couple of the really fast planes are already at the next stop; a few of the slower planes will likely spend the night back in Hereford; but we suspect most will end up here tonight. Linda will upload pictures later tonight, and will also separate my paragraphs which for some reason I can't do on my iPad.

This is Linda. I'm having trouble with a slow internet connection so I am only uploading a few photos from our last night in Lake Havasu. Hopefully I will find a better connection tomorrow to upload today's photos.

This is Ethel, Barb and Alison and the racers briefing on Monday.

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The three teams from the Eastern PA chapter of the 99s went to dinner for our last night in Lake Havasu. We went to a restaurant called the Golden Horseshoe. Earlier in the weekend when we were taking our boat ride we saw this boat go by. Guess what restaurant it was advertising? Yep, the Golden Horshoe.

Alison had an odd attraction to the big chicken in the parking lot at the restaurant.

Here it is....the Golden Horseshoe!

We raised our glasses (of water, diet coke, lemonade and a vodka martini) to our last night in Lake Havasu.

Mountains were beautiful on the way to the airport for take-off!

This is Starr Worthy, one of the volunteers at Lake Havasu.

The racers make their way to their planes to prepare for take-off.

A racer's best friend...an armful of water!

Classic #15 is ready to go/

So is classic #5...note Alison's "game face"

One of the marshalls making sure we don't get lost on the way to the start line.

There's the starter with the green flag...ready for departure!

On the roll down runway 32 to start the race.

You can see the airport just behind the mountains as we climb. 

Thanks to all the volunteers at Lake Havasu for a terrific start to the race.

A look back at Lake Havasu city with the mountains in front, the lake behind and more mountains beyond  the lake.

Classic racer #4 along the race route flying high and to our left.

Some of the great folks in Gallup, NM. They were all so friendly, thanks everyone!

Here's Linda at the FBO in Gallup.

On the way from Gallup, NM to Hereford, TX. These are the mountains outside Albuquerque.

Stock pens just outside Hereford airport.

On the ramp in Hereford.

Some cake just for us

We took over the men's restrooms almost everywhere we went.

The Hereford steer. Thanks so much to all the folks in Hereford. I know it was very hectic and you all did a great job!

Mary and Barb getting a "wind doo" in Hereford.

This gives you an idea of some of the winds. You can see the dust blowing off the fields.

Here's Linda holding on for dear life checking the fuel in Goodland, KS. It was very windy.

Ah...the Eastern PA teams eat pizza at the local Holiday Inn...ready for a good night's sleep.

Twas the night before takeoff

Twas the Night before Takeoff

Twas the night before takeoff, and all through the hotel
Not a racer was stirring, not even Chantel.
The airplanes were parked on the ramp with great care,
In hopes that their pilots soon would be there.

The racers were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of flybys and density altitude danced in their heads.
And Wild Mamma in her ‘kerchief, and Freakin’ Awesome in their caps,
Had just settled their brains for short evening’s nap.

When down in the briefing room there arose such a clatter,
We all sprang from our beds to see what was the matter.
Away to the lobby we flew like a flash,
Tore open the room doors and almost all crashed.

The room was neatly arranged and already to go
For the racers had weather information they all needed to know.
When, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a weather briefer named Dale, and his winds aloft forecast we all hold so dear .

With the weather in mind, the racers were ready to go quick
And off to their cars they ran lickety-split

More rapid than leer jets to the airport they came,
And the starters whistled and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now MamaBear! now, Arkansas Aviatrix! now, RiddleRacer #VI!
On, Vectors Wild! On, Flyin’ Hawaiiowans! on, Flyby Bandits and Rick's Chicks!
Go Team Snoopy! Go Baldwin Family Flyers! Go DC3 and Plane Dames!
Now fly away! Fly away! Fly away all!"

They sprang to their planes, and gave their engines a crank,
And away they all flew with so many to thank.
And I heard them exclaim, as they flew out of sight
"Blue skies, tailwinds and to all a good flight!"

24 hours to lift off!!

This morning's early walk revealed that the smoke has dissipated and the mountains are once again in clear focus, a good sign for race start tomorrow. We packed up all our extraneous clothes, charts and other personal effects and shipped them to the terminus to get our weight down to the minimum (again, you wouldn't think it would matter, but it does!). I wouldn't say that we are down to one t-shirt and a toothbrush each for the four day race, but it's not far off! Now starting the main prerace briefing which will last all morning, including a preliminary weather briefing.

Late breaking news

I bumped into judge Marvin with a sheet of paper in his hand on his way to post the final calculated handicaps, so was the first racer to get a look at them. Our handicap speed is 143.17 knots (ie about 165 mph). This is a couple knots faster than last year when we were carrying passenger Barbara, so it seems about right. During the race we need to beat this speed by as big a margin as we can, and everyone else will be trying to do the same thing.

Sunday wrap up - updated with pictures

Can I just say, it's hotter than Hades down here. And I'm speaking as someone who loves the heat. If you want to imagine how hot it is, remember what it feels like when you open the oven door to take something out, then imagine that all the time. Even buildings with air conditioning seem rather half-hearted about trying to take the edge off. Back to Sunday. After the All-Racers briefing we took our baby birds Mollie and Esther out for lunch to have a long overdue Q&A session. Then Linda and I spent the rest of the afternoon working through the sectional charts and flyby procedures for the entire route, and determining our strategy for each leg. Feeling much better prepared now. The day ended with a racers banquet hosted by the Rio Colorado Chapter of the 99s in the London Bridge Resort, which was great and another chance to reconnect with the 106 women comprising 49 race teams who are participating this year. We are side by side with flight mechanics, authors, air traffic controllers, flight instructors, students, commercial pilots and all kinds of totally cool women, and it makes us all feel very proud. The most fabulous woman of all today was the speaker at the banquet, Captain Jennifer Wade of the USAF, a petite blonde woman who flies, fights and instructs F16s. She gave an inspirational and very funny speech about the challenges of being the only female pilot deployed to her unit in Afghanistan, as well as a description of what the movie Top Gun would have been like if it had been about women fighter pilots! Each race team also got to go up one by one to be presented with this year's air race charm, and have their photo taken. One more day on the ground to go...

This is Linda adding some pictures from late yesterday and today.

"Fiesta" welcome dinner on Saturday evening

The mayor of lake Havasu makes a proclamation that June 19th is Air race day

Sunrise Sunday morning, you can see the haze in the sky from the wild fire smoke

The mountains outside the city are obscured by smoke

The all racers briefing Sunday morning

We finally got to spend some time with our baby birds, Mollie and Ester. They are a collegiate team from Liberty University in Virginia. 

The start banquet on Sunday night

Our table at the start banquet

Guest speaker Captain Jennifer Wade of the USAF. She was awesome!

Here we are with our baby birds at the start banquet.

The three teams from Eastern PA