|
Race
preparations (April 14 - June 14) |
| 14 April 2008 |
Our ARC2008 registration
packet was posted to ARC HQ. We are
Classic Team 34. |
| 21 April 2008 |
Wild Women of the Wind
is born. |
| 16 May 2008 |
Linda receives her Complex sign-off in a Piper Arrow. |
| 5 May 2008 |
Cardinal N1351C ("51-Charlie")
got the OK that his papers are in order, and he's registered and
ready to fly. This bird will be soaring around the Midwest
training for the BIG RACE. Likewise, Minnetta and Linda
are honing their skills and preparing.
We are flying to challenge ourselves, and we invite you to
sponsor "this bird" in a novel effort to also
raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
towards finding better therapies and a cure for multiple
sclerosis - join us to make a difference from above. |
| 21 May 2008 |
Linda gets
signed off in a Cessna Cardinal RG. She is more than ready to take
the controls of Cardinal "51-Charlie". |
| 31 May 2008 |
Minnetta starts
training for her commercial certificate - steep 60°
turns, chandelles, and steep descending spiral. Great fun
in the sky. |
| 1 June 2008 |
Wild Women of the
Wind receive their first sponsorship commitment - a generous
contribution at Storm level by the
Iowa Chapter of the 99s.
Thank you. |
| 2 June 2008 |
Wild Women of the
Wind receive their first private sponsorship commitment - a Strong
breeze has blown in from the west coast.
Thanks
Anne & Bill P. |
| 3 June 2008 |
The breezes
continue to blow. Many thanks to
Paula D-D, Al K &
Francoise G, Mary Z, Nancy L, Johannes H & Mary H, and Gail &
Warren B. |
| 4 June 2008 |
We have a
Hurricane today - Jet Air,
the FBO in Iowa City, will ride the tail of 51-Charlie
from Bozeman MT to Mansfield MA. Harrel & Phillip, many
thanks for your tremendous generosity. |
| 5 June 2008 |
We have another
Storm level sponsor, Quadrant Aerospace, and Moderate breezes
from
Lori W and Cessna 140 N2143N. Thanks so much. |
| 9 June 2008 |
Light to strong
breezes continue to build over the weekend - thanks to
Sonya F &
Jason T, Dan E & Mei-ling J, David P and Jody H. |
| 13 June 2008 |
As many of you
have seen on the national news, Iowa is awash in historic
500-year flood waters. Many buildings of the University
of Iowa are located beside the raging Iowa River and have
taken on water, but Iowans are pitching in to sandbag areas to
preserve key buildings. Iowa City Municipal Airport
(IOW) is still high and dry, although the floodwaters are
lapping nearby. 51-Charlie is still fine, and she is ready
to fly south to Washington IA (AWG) if IOW is compromised.
We will be leaving Wed/Thu to make our way to Bozeman. |
| 14 June 2008 |
Water continues
to build in Iowa City, but IOW is still "high ground" relatively
speaking. At least 2 more days before the water level
crests. We've enjoyed some sunshine though and we're
surprised with some great breezes courtesy of
Anne & Bob S, John & Diana C, and Faye & Larry McD. |
|
Wild Women of the Wind travel to Bozeman MT (June 18 - 20) |
18 June 2008
(Wednesday)
Iowa City
to
Pierre |
The water is
dropping!!! Hooray!!! Iowans are awesome when you
see how they pull together to help each other. This is
"community" in the truest sense of the word.
THE ADVENTURE BEGINS TODAY! Minnetta and
51-Charlie take off to begin the flight to Bozeman. First
stop - Pierre SD - the halfway point. It's the capital of
SD and pronounced "peer". It's on the Missouri River with
Ft. Pierre across the bridge, and the 2 cities lie in different
time zones - Pierre in Central and Ft. Pierre in Mountain. |
19 June 2008
(Thursday)
Pierre
to
Miles City
to
Bozeman |
After a good
night's sleep, it's off to Bozeman. The flight is filed
for PIR (Pierre SD) to BIL (Billings MT) for a fuel stop and
then on to BZN (Bozeman MT). Isolated thunderstorms pop
up, and the fuel reserve gets a little tighter, so the route is
amended for a stop in Miles City MT. Storm clouds blow
over Miles City, the Stormscope starts to light up for lightning
just as 51-Charlie lands. We find another plane with a
race number on the apron. Two more racer planes land soon
after. I meet our "Mama Birds" (Classic 33) - race mentors
for first time racers. We fuel up, the storms blow by, the
weather clears to the west, and we fly off to BZN.
51-Charlie flies at 12.000 ft - Minnetta's highest and longest
flight to date - we land at BZN around 8:30 pm.
IOW to BZN was about 8-9 hrs total flying time with mostly blue
skies and smooth flying. After taxiing to tie-down spot
#34, Classic 34 is unloaded, the pilot catches a ride with Linda
Marshall (BZN stop chair), and she
has a great night's sleep after her first mountain flight. |
20 June 2008
(Friday) |
It's up early and
out to the airport to wash and wax 51-Charlie.
Unfortunately, Linda has not yet arrived, and Minnetta has to
attack this job solo.
Dan, where are you?
Minnetta has to degrease 51-Charlie's "belly" for the first time
- yuk! Luckily, Jet Air did give 51-Charlie
a good wash after his oil change last week, so the belly was not
really so bad, and Minnetta did have a nice garage creeper to
use rolling around on under 51-Charlie's belly. Several
hours were spent washing, scrubbing, and drying.
Linda and Steve arrived from their commercial flight MA to MT
around mid-day, and after settling in, they both help out with
the wash job. 51-Charlie gets "pimped out" with his race
numbers and sponsor decals.
Classic 34 is a reality!
|
|
Wild Women of the Wind check in for THE RACE (June 21 - 23) |
21 June 2008
(Saturday) |
Certification & inspection day! We Pledge
polish 51-Charlie to make him more slippery for flying - he is
ready for inspection, and passes with flying colors.
Linda's and Minnetta's papers are checked over and certified
ready to fly. Haley, a young 9-year-old lady, is
collecting pilot signatures and asks Minnetta which plane she's
flying. Haley gets an up close tour and grills the pilot
about every inch of the plane, including the inspection covers.
Linda Ely films the tour, and maybe Haley and Minnetta will be
co-stars one day. Haley helps Minnetta give the Girl
Scouts a tour of 51-Charlie. When it's time to taxi
51-Charlie back to the hangar, Minnetta asks Haley to co-pilot
the plane for the taxi procedure.
Haley does a first-rate job as co-pilot watching out that we
don't clip any other planes tied down on the side of the
taxiway. The Bozeman welcoming committee throws a
great BBQ - we meet the racers! |
22 June 2008
(Sunday) |
Time to organize this team - Linda and Minnetta
spend some time talking race details. It's time to learn
the ropes. Fly by to continue...fly by to land...marking
up the charts...attending the required
first-time racers seminar.
ARC 2008 has a record number of first timers, and this race may
be the opportunity for the organization to reinvigorate the Air
Race Classic for future years - a great race experience will
keep them coming back. The reality is setting in, and we
begin to imagine the experience ahead of us. |
23 June 2008
(Monday) |
At 0800, we
gather for the mandatory
all racers briefing &
safety seminar. It's a 5-6 hour marathon.
The emphasis is placed on education, fun, and safety. We
learn about how the fly-off will occur from Bozeman. We
are introduced to the fly-by patterns and timing lines. We
discover how the scoring will be calculated from the timed legs.
The bottom line is to beat the handicap of your plane.
The real goal is to fly the perfect cross-country trip. We
organize our crew resource management plan - in short, Minnetta
flies; Linda navigates, communicates, and photographs.
Beyond this simple view, there are lots of details - ARC flight
plans, fueling, "remain overnight" (RON) lists, hotel
arrangements, weather checks, and debugging the plane after each
leg. On the one hand, our heads are spinning a bit with
all of the knowledge. On the other hand, the pieces are
beginning to fit together. We go out for some lunch to
talk more about how we should divide the duties over the race.
We stop by Home Depot to have some spare keys made for the plane
- a set is clipped on to Minnetta's flight bag. It's time
to get some sleep and to dream of what will come. |
|
THE RACE - ARC 2008 - Bozeman MT to Mansfield MA (June 24 - 27) |
24 June 2008
(Tuesday)
Bozeman
to
Miles City
(1:38:23)
to
Aberdeen
(2:29:21) |
At
0600, we gather for the take-off breakfast - it's
way too early for Minnetta. We receive a great weather
briefing that puts everybody on a level playing field - the
conditions look great for the start of our adventure. It's
time to catch a ride to the airport and to pack the plane.
We remove the tie-downs and perform our preflight check and
walk-around. Our gear and luggage is packed. Our
flight bags are organized and stowed. The GPS is
programmed with the route. Our water and snacks are stowed
close at hand. We settle into the cockpit and run through
the inside preflight check. The signal is given to start
the engines, and each plane on the line turns the key.
DISASTER STRIKES!!! The new key for 51-Charlie fails to
work. Minnetta begins a frantic search for
the original keys for 51-Charlie. No luck. She gets
out of the plane and begins to dig through every bag in a
frenzied effort to find the other keys. The others are
wondering what's gone wrong with Classic 34, as they see us
throwing bags out of the plane to search every possible place
for the original keys. Vern Conly stops by to ask about
the problem, and he calmly encourages us to keep looking.
Finally, Vern says that we'll have to get pushed back to allow
Classic 36 to taxi by us for the fly-off. We are being
left behind. As Vern quietly tells us to keep looking and
Minnetta desperately says she's searched every bag three times,
her eye catches the red ARC badge holder hanging around her neck
- all of a sudden, she remembers putting the other keys in the
badge holder for "safe keeping" and "easy access." The
crisis is over, and we reorganize to catch up to the pack.
We taxi off and join our race group, who have begun taking off.
We wave to the local folks as we taxi by them. We wave to
Haley and her mom, who have come to see the fly-off.
We
are the last plane to take off.
We fly from Bozeman (BZN) to Miles City (MLS) - it's leg #1, the
first fly by, and the first timing line.
At
MLS, we fly by at top speed just 600 feet above the ground.
We fly by to land and take on fuel. We take off, fly the
timing line again to begin timing for leg #2, and we're off to
Aberdeen (ABR).
At ABR, we fly by at just 400 feet above
ground - what a rush!!! We call it a day,
check into a hotel, catch dinner, and crash. |
25 June 2008
(Wednesday)
Aberdeen
to
Mason City
(1:54:03)
to
Decatur
(2:07:47s
to
Frankfurt
(1:37:52) |
It's another
early morning (0600) as we catch a van back to the airport.
It's time to repack the plane, check weather, and figure out how
to get in line for taking off. The weather is good.
In theory, we take off in the order that we landed the day
before. However, once the first planes begin taking off,
it's just a matter of getting ready to taxi. After making
a call that we're ready for taxi, if nobody else calls out,
we're good to go.
Taxi, takeoff, get into the pattern for
"fly by to continue" - it's another high speed, low approach fly
by to restart the clock for leg #3 as we pass the timing line
and continue on to Mason City (MCW), IA. At MCW,
we find that the racers who made it there yesterday are only
just beginning to take off - the AM weather held them up a bit.
We
fly by to land at 500 feet above ground. We
get some lunch and check weather while waiting for our fuel.
We debug the plane and Pledge up the leading edges. An
Iowa reporter from the Mason City newspaper is looking for any
Iowa pilots, so Minnetta spends some time chatting with him and
talking about our adventure. After that, it's time to take
off again, fly by to continue on
leg #4 to Decatur (DEC) - a
busier, towered airport where the flight controller will
sequence the traffic. Each leg offers some added
complexities.
The fly by to land at
DEC is just 300 feet above ground. The traffic is heavy
with planes flying by, landing, taking off - not to mention the
local traffic that must be taken care of too. We feel like
we are flying in a swarm of bees. It's a
great day to fly though. So we debug and Pledge the plane
yet again while waiting for our fuel.
We
hydrate ourselves and prep for leg #5 to Frankfort (FFT), KY.
We have plenty of time to fly this leg and land before sundown.
If not at a race stop by sundown, it's a stiff penalty -
disqualification. We re-enter the DEC traffic for our fly
by to continue, and we head off in search of Kentucky blue
grass. The Frankfort area is really beautiful, and we get
a bird's eye view of the capital of Kentucky. As we set up
for our fly by, we overfly the Capitol building for this state.
We
line up parallel to the assigned runway, and fly the timing line
at just 200 feet above ground at FFT. We
land and button up the plane for the night. The local
volunteers have given us a great welcome - local chocolates,
root beer made by a local brewery, cookies. Our hotel
choice was not among our favorites - Linda reports seeing 2
fleas hop out of her bed as she turns back the covers.
Yikes!!! We vow to choose a better
hotel tomorrow night. The restaurant options are nil, and we
order a Domino's pizza that takes forever to arrive at the hotel
- so long that the driver charges us only half-price. It
is late, and we are really hungry, so it tastes great. We
devour it and then crash for the night. |
26 June 2008
(Thursday)
Frankfort
to
Franklin
(2:21:28)
|
We have big plans
for today - we should be able to fly Frankfort to Franklin (leg
#6) to Saratoga Springs (leg #7) and on to Mansfield (leg #8).
We are looking forward to wrapping up the race a day early.
We join the pack taking off and offer our farewell to Frankfort.
Little do we know that our flight plan will not play out as we
expected.
Franklin is a small airport nestled in the
hills of western Pennsylvania - it's a gorgeous green space from
the sky. We pick out the runways of FKL; however, as we
circle around and drop altitude, it disappears.
We've lost sight of the airport. So we climb higher and
reorient ourselves with the terrain. Precious time has
been lost with these need to recircle the area. We see it again and
line up for our fly by to land, being careful to keep our
altitude higher and not drop down to have the hills obscure the
airport again.
With the hills and need
for altitude to keep the airport in sight on the approach, this
flyby requires a speedy dive for the fly by altitude - 400 feet
above ground for the length of the runway of 5,900 feet.
After the fly by, we climb to normal pattern altitude, which is
about 1,000 feet above ground and circle the area to cool off
the engine. We make our landing to collect water, food,
fuel, and to remove the latest collection of bugs. This
airport has a great restaurant for lunch - the best among the
stops on this year's route, for sure.
About 20 racer planes are congregated at this stop - the weather
on the route to our next stop, Saratoga Springs (5B2), is not
favoring VFR (visual flight rules). Just a
few take off, betting that the clouds will lift by the time they
arrive at 5B2 or that they'll climb above them and find a hole
to descend back down to land at 5B2. The rest of us settle
in for a long day at FKL watching the weather on computer
screens, talking to weather briefers, and calling the folks at
5B2 for first-hand weather updates. Around 6:30 pm, we
give up and begin to make our way to hotels and to make plans to
get together for dinner somewhere in town. Two more racers
bolt for 5B2 at the last minute. Word arrives that two
planes that left earlier in the day filed IFR along the route
and are disqualified. Another plane was reported to land
at an airport off route to wait out the weather, and the clock
keeps ticking for them until they get into 5B2. In a way,
this day provided some relaxation with a chance to enjoy the
airport and the town that we were stopping at. We had a
great dinner at a local restaurant a few blocks from our hotel.
Franklin is a very nice town. |
27 June 2008
(Friday)
Franklin
to
Saratoga Springs
(2:54:34)
to
Mansfield
(1:05:40) |
Today is the last day with two legs to go. We must all be
in Mansfield (1B9) by 5 pm to complete the route successfully.
While these two legs only require about 3.5 hours total to fly,
we need to accommodate to weather and a fuel stop at 5B2.
The weather at 5B2 is still not cooperating, but it is slowly
clearing and lifting. The weather at FKL is good but will
deteriorate some as the day goes on. So we need to pick
the window that allows us out of FKL and into 5B2.
Saratoga Springs does not have automatic weather reporting, so
we have to look at weather for the neighboring airports, which
show quite different conditions. The Glens Falls airport
automated weather seems to have the conditions most closely
matching those that we are getting from the folks at Saratoga
Springs whom we are talking with. The mist and low clouds
are reported to be lifting and burning off. We decide to
take off and go for it. Leg #7 starts out great, and we
are flying along at 5,500 feet.
Then we need to decide to descend or climb as clouds appear
ahead. We decide to climb on top of clouds, believing that
we'll find a hole to go back down through as we get closer to
Saratoga Springs. Racers ahead of us say that the weather
is clearing. The decision was a bad one.
We fight to climb atop and stay above the clouds. We have
to go all the way to 12,000 feet to get on top. We are
only about 50-70 miles from 5B2, but we are not seeing any
breaks ahead.
We make the decision to get on a westerly
VFR altitude and reverse our course 180 degrees to where we know
there is green grass visible below us. This
decision will cost us a lot of time on this leg, but it ensures
that we can get back down below the clouds. We had just
been discussing the possibility of skipping the fuel stop at 5B2
and doing the fly by to continue on to 1B9. Now we fly
back about 30 miles to find a large hole in the clouds below us.
We do several gentle spirals down and come out below the clouds.
Now we've spent the extra fuel on backtracking, the slow
descent, and retracing our path to 5B2. We know that our
time on this leg is blown, and we decide to pull back power a
bit to further conserve fuel into Saratoga Springs. Our
spirits are a bit dampened on this fly-by, but it is still a
rush to dive in for a 200-foot above ground low approach
parallel to the 4,700-ft runway. We're relieved to get on
the ground and to have time to regroup for the final leg.
As
I am tidying up the plane and checking it over, a woman
approaches me for a photograph. As we are talking, she
asks me about the flooding in Iowa, and I mention that I'm
originally from the Central NY area. When I
mention the Syracuse area, she asks where I lived. As I
mention Fayetteville, she says that she lives in Brewerton, and
I tell her that I was born in Brewerton and lived there until I
was about 9 years old. It truly is a small world.
Leg #8 is the shortest leg of the race, and we feel that it
should be an easy one. Again, we are overly optimistic.
As we check weather, it's clear that mist and clouds are low
along our route, and we have reports of thunderstorms north of
our route. After a short stopover, we're off
to conquer this last hurdle. Linda's knowledge of this
region and her appreciation of the mountains before us are
invaluable. She is repeatedly advising me on our altitude
and the need to divert a bit south towards Pittsfield in order
to stay out of clouds and maintain a safe altitude above the
ridges. We talk to controllers and flight watch, who
advise us of thunderstorms over Boston, which is just a bit
north of Mansfield. I can see a large field of lightning
bolts depicted on the screen of the Garmin 496 off to our left,
but our Stormscope is quiet. We arrive at 1B9, but it also
has no automated weather to check winds in preparation for our
landing. A nearby airport reports a direct crosswind, and
I prepare for that. The fly-by is at 200 feet, and the
runway is short (3,500 ft). With the altitude at only 122
feet above sea level, it seems like a real dive to parallel the
runway. After the fly-by, we come in to land, but I've
overcorrected for the wind, am flying to fast, and the opposite
end of the runway is coming up fast. So I call a
go-around, circle, and make a second approach to land. The
folks on the ground must have wondered what this crazy racer was
doing, but we put it down on the next try.
We
made it! We are on the ground in Mansfield and have
completed this 2000+ mile flight from Bozeman. We both
feel immense relief and a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
It's a pinnacle of achievement for both of us - Classic 34
- Wild Women of the Wind. |
|
The
adventure ends in Mansfield MA (June 27 - 29) |
27 June 2008
(Friday) |
The town of Mansfield MA is throwing a party for the racers.
The community wraps their arms around all of us.
Folks meet us at our planes to help us take our gear into the
airport. Folks are photographing all the racers as they
arrive.
Linda is on her home turf with her husband
and friends greeting her. She is looking
forward to a quiet evening to relax with them.
Minnetta goes off to check in at the hotel and to join the other
racers and locals at the "Meltdown Party." It's a great
celebration to meet up with all of the other racers again.
Only one plane - Classic 36 - did not make it in by the 5 pm
deadline. They were delayed in Saratoga Springs as the
cloud layer lowered, making it impossible for them to safely
depart for Mansfield. Folks from the town of Mansfield are
welcoming their guests into their homes or taking them out to
local restaurants for dinner tonight.
Minnetta joins Lara and Jan (Classic 33, our Mama Birds) to have
dinner at the home of the Donohues with their family and
friends. They offer us an incredible spread
with steak and lobster. Minnetta gets a one-on-one lesson
in dismembering and eating a lobster. These creatures have
very sharp spiny projections. The food is great, and the
evening is very enjoyable. It's a great way to relax and
unwind from the frenzied week of flying. Midway through
dinner though, Minnetta realizes that she left her camera on a
table at the Meltdown Party, but she has confidence that it will
be returned. |
28 June 2008
(Saturday) |
Today is one for relaxation and catching up with other racers
whom we haven't seen much during the week of racing.
It's a leisurely breakfast and a walk through the hospitality
room to view the silent auction items.
Linda stops by with our score sheet to review our leg times and
to meet with the official scorer to compare ours with the times
taken at the timing lines. We feel that
everything is in order and sign off on the times. Indeed,
leg #7 was the killer race segment - we scored nearly 20 knots
below our handicap speed of 117 kph. If not for that leg,
we would have fallen in the middle of the pack on our first
race. We head out to the airport to enjoy the
Mansfield Airport Family Festival that they've
coordinated with the Air Race Classic. Local food,
businesses, antique cars, and vintage aircraft welcome the
racers and the town to the airport. Classic 36, our last
racer, has landed too and is grateful to be on the ground there.
In the evening, we come together to enjoy
"Dinner Under the Stars" and music. More
lobster is on the menu. As the evening cools off a bit,
Minnetta buys a red 1B9 sweatshirt to stay warm. She goes
off with a few other racers to a local martini bar for some more
conversation with new friends - Classic 31 and 23 - lots of
laughs through the evening. Aside from the race, the best
part of this experience is the incredible women that we have
met. Their stories are phenomenal, and the histories of
these women create a strong draw for coming back next year to
learn more. |
29 June 2008
(Sunday) |
This dream is coming to a close. Today is
our last day together, and tomorrow, the flock scatters across
the U.S.
At 0900, the first time
racers come together for their mandatory debriefing.
It's a way for the organizers to hear about our experiences.
They are looking for constructive criticism so that they can
work to improve the race. Many people speak to the awesome
time that they've had. Many have also identified areas
that they hope will be worked on to improve the quality for
future racers.
At 1030, all the racers come together for
the last mandatory briefing. Similarly, the
high points and low points of the race are discussed. In
both groups, it's clear that common elements are identified -
strengthening the preparation of the volunteers at each airport,
hardening the rules affecting safety issues, and improving the
handicap process. The 2008 ARC had the largest number of
first time racers, and it's clear that the ARC organization
wants to retain many of these racers to ensure the continuation
of this great race tradition. If they successfully
implement some of these upgrades, then I'm sure there will be
some returning racers. For sure, I know that the Wild
Women of the Wind would like to join in the fun again.
After lunch, Minnetta heads out to the airport to spend some
time with the Girl Scouts and shows 51-Charlie to a couple of
young ladies. One was pretty frightened of small planes,
and I hope that she relaxed a bit after she had a chance to sit
in the cockpit. I bought a 1B9 baseball cap to send back
to Haley in Montana.
Finally, the Awards Banquet has arrived. We
learn who will take home the top 10 place finishes and also who
won individual leg prizes.
Sadly, Classic 34 was not among the winners. We didn't
even win last place, which was taken by our Mama Birds, Classic
33. They beat us for last place, as they had
to sit on the off-route airport between Franklin and Saratoga
Springs waiting for the weather to clear. |
|
The
return to IOW (June 30 - July 1) |
30 June 2008
(Monday)
Mansfield
to
Williamsport
to
Akron
|
It is time to
head west and return to Iowa City. While I normally read
and watch the news closely, I feel like I have withdrawn from
the real world over this past 10 days. I've been
preoccupied with the race and haven't followed how Iowa is doing
post-flood.
Re-entry to the real world begins today.
The racers are heading back to the airport, and many are happily
filing their instrument flight plans, myself included.
It
was noted that one racer said, "I'm filing IFR, because I
can, no matter how good the weather is." My sentiments
exactly. The weather looks great - blue
skies, puffy clouds. I file my instrument flight plan,
pre-flight the plane, and take off. The air is smooth.
I confidently drill through some clouds on my way to 8000 feet.
I'm hoping to be able to catch dinner with Donna Moore, a 99 and
previous ARC racer from Ohio.
Storm clouds are gathering in Pennsylvania, and flight watch
warns of thunderstorms across my line of flight to Ohio.
So I continue for a bit, planning a stop for fuel and to wait
for a break in the storm front. I decide on
Williamsport Regional (IPT) in Pennsylvania - not too far from
Franklin. After getting some fuel, it's a few hours of
down time waiting for a safe break. The storms never hit
Williamsport and seem to split to go around the area, which is
what a local pilot indicated was the tendency here.
I
take off again around 8 pm and fly to Canton-Akron Regional (CAK).
It's much bigger than I thought it would be. I have a good
landing, talk with Donna, and settle into a hotel for the night.
We plan to get together for breakfast in the AM. |
1 July 2008
(Tuesday)Akron
to
Moline
to
Iowa City
|
It's a beautiful, sunny day. Donna Moore and I have a
really nice breakfast and some time to chat.
She and Betty Huck raced in the Air Race Classic three times, so
she wanted to hear all of my stories. I wanted to hear her
stories. We talked a bit about her search for a new plane.
I'm still filing an instrument plan. It's nice to have a
controller watching you and keeping you separated from other
traffic.
As I taxi, take off, and
climb out of CAK, I realize how "slow" things feel now.
After the 4-day race, normal flying seems leisurely. I
don't let the feeling fool me, and I occupy myself with some
planning ahead for the flight - checking out the GPS, organizing
things in the cockpit, tuning radios and checking them.
I'm hoping to make it through to Iowa City without a fuel stop,
but the tanks are getting low. After doing some
calculations, I decide to stop in Moline (MLI; Quad Cities) to
take on some fuel. It's not worth an
off-airport stop due to fuel exhaustion. That would surely
ruin this great adventure. Unfortunately, I chose the
airport with the highest fuel price that I've seen since leaving
Iowa City nearly 2 weeks ago. After pointing this out to
the FBO, they cut me a break on the fuel price. One last
little positive note on this great success story. |
|
2 July 2008 |
Upon my arrival
home, I discover that several breezes blew through dropping
additional sponsorship checks in my mailbox.
So
more thanks are in order - Cindy D, Joelle F, Kevin G & Maria
B-P, Paul P & Candan A, Cathy R & Ed G. Now
it's time to add everything up and see what everybody has raised
for NMSS and the fight against multiple sclerosis. Many
thanks to all who believed in this cause. I will be
sending out a final note to everybody soon. I hope to do
it again next year. Stay tuned for pictures and the news
of how much money was raised. Thanks again. |
|
7 July 2008 |
Sponsorships continue to
arrive - thanks Lisa & Bryan R. |
|
11 July 2008 |
Our first gale just blew
through from the west coast - courtesy of Val K & Mike C. |
|
August 2008 |
Just a few more breezes blowing through Iowa City - thanks Sacha
P and Jun Y. |
|
September 2008 |
It's time to
close the books on this adventure.
We
raised $3,000 for NMSS!!! Thank you so much
to our many generous sponsors. We hope to race again next
year, and we will set a new goal of $5,000. We hope that
you will consider joining us again in 2009. |
|
