Borger, TX : "Classic 13, what are your intentions?"




Peggy and Julie in front of the 'Lunar Rocket'!
Maule M-5 235 hp

 

Flying the Air Race Classic was one of the most exhilerating experiences we've ever done!  Maybe MORE exhilerating than we liked at times!  Our flight to Borger, TX , June 22, had no tailwinds, to say the least.  We trudged on, trying to find anything favorable in winds aloft.  ZIP!  Hot in the cabin, Peggy used old sectionals to fan the pilots, hoping to bring some sort of breeze for cooling.  There in front of us in the distance was Borger, TX . . .and an airplane!!  Could it be that we would do a dual flyby with someone else??  NO!!?  Not with our slow speed and 31" Alaskan bushwheels dragging in the air ;-) !!!  But, there they were.  Julie announced Classic 13 had them in sight, alerting them we were coming up behind them in the distance.  This was something we learned to do in our many briefings, making sure if you were to actually DO a dual flyby the other plane would be aware for safety purposes.  As we approached the airport we realized we would not be making the dual, but that 2 other planes were in front of us.  Landing lights on! "Classic 13, flyby to land", Julie announced.  We made the flyby which stopped our time. The timing judges were asking, "which one was 13, what were the other numbers?"  We announced we had in fact been the 3rd one in the short period of time they were talking about.  All of a sudden we had NO BATTERY POWER . . .no radio, no intercomm, etc.  We panned the horizon, making sure the other planes had either continued on or had landed and cleared the runway.  We had to shout to make sure the other one could hear what we were reporting.  "No airplanes in the air, no airplanes on the runway, Julie, you've got it, clear to land!" I shouted, trying to support the PIC . I snugged up my seatbelts.  "Good job, Julie, good job!!" as our tundra tires touched the runway.  We were a bit shaken but knew we needed a mechanic and a Chair person to explain our actions after our flyby.  He was in full agreement with our decision making, landing safely with no radio contact.  The rules of the race are that if you have maintenance done there is paperwork involved.  There were no mechanics in Borger, TX.  We got permission from the Chair person of Borger to remove the battery, charge it overnight, hoping it would be all that was needed.  We were transported to the hotels by church volunteers.  We were so exhausted  that night.  I had picked up Subway sandwiches, cheese and grapes from Alliance, NE Chamber members to take along when we left.  That was our evening meal!!  Friends told us they could hear the tower when we were trying to land saying, "Classic 13, what are your intentions!! " The next morning we arrived the airport hoping the overnight charge was all we needed to proceed on.  NOT!  After our runup, we started hearing the same sounds we had heard the day before when we lost battery power.  We decided to delay our departure and try to purchase a battery, thinking we may have to order one and get it the following day.   No one had one, they thought.  Out of the blue, a man walked up with a NEW battery in a box with acid, etc.  With a little charging, we were off again.  On to Norman, OK!! Team 13 was lucky again!



'"Where 'ya want me to stick this?"
Julie had to leave the building!!





Scenery in Borger, TX



OFFICIAL START : Alliance, NE




Alliance, NE

 



Hello, Alliance, NE

 Julie and I made it to Alliance, June 22, 2011, a few hours ahead of time giving us a break before noon departure.  Food and drinks had been provided by the Alliance Chamber of Commerce.  What a spread!!  We checked the weather, hoping for great tailwinds.  We had yet another short briefing in the terminal building, trying to explain AGAIN that we could leave anytime after noon, trying to encourage those with larger Team numbers to wait until the rush was over, making sure everyone departed safely.  We, as Team 13, had very few ahead of us.  Some had dropped out of the race or had simply not arrived.  We left right after the noon hour.  The race was ON!!  F I N A L L Y!!!  "Classic 13, departing, etc".   We were off, seeing beautiful terrain, again.  Seeing things we would never see if we had not entered the race.  WOW!  We arrived safely in Great Bend, KS with winds, 30 plus knots, again!  Taxied in to our spot and tied the Maule down with help from airport personnel and volunteers of the Air Race.  My visor flew across the ramp.  Julie noticed the flaps on the plane had more give than they should.  She re-adjusted the flaps control inside the plane, which corrected the problem.  Great!!!  Later on, while walking to the terminal building, a nice fellow walked up and asked if I'd lost any money.  There it was...2 $5 dollar bills I had tucked in my badge holder for easy access for quick tips to give people. I asked if he'd keep one for being so honest and he said no, of course.   We were warmly greeted by more volunteers from the area inside the terminal.  MORE FOOD!!  Homemade cookies, nut mixes, snack bars, candy, etc. . .we resisted by the hardest, remembering our briefings and what snacks provided stamina!   We drank water and snacked on the meals provided by our sponsor, Take Shape for Life!  We looked at the weather and waited for better tailwinds, if possible.  We paid our fuel bill, walked out to check the oil and wipe bugs off the leading edge of the wings.  AWAY WE GO. . . on to Borger, TX!



Great Bend, KS











Maule M-5 departing Iowa City, IA



























Grand Island, NE



Pirate Attack
Grand Island, NE



100 nm out of Alliance, NE



Everyone met this morning, June 21, 2011, for the START breakfast hoping to hear good news about the weather.  Each team is on their own to get to Alliance, NE by noon tomorrow, which is the time of the new START of the race.  Several teams were thinking Grand Island, NE would be a great stop since they have a restaurant on the field.  Off we go!!  Julie and I, having a fabric covered airplane, had managed to secure a hangar in Iowa City (thanks Matt Wolford) to avoid predicted hail.  We said our goodbyes to the airport staff, Matt and his parents who had come in to help from the Galesburg, IL area.  They took our picture with our Parrot Head hats we'd brought along for the kids in Mobile, AL.  We filed IFR due to weather. The trip over was treacherous due to wind and storms.  We saw very little of the countryside.  Landed with winds 30 or so knots!  Julie mentioned I may need to hold onto the wing so I unbuckled my seat belt, ready to climb out on the step to even the load if necessary. Tremendous winds after parking.  We held onto the plane with the help of the wonderful men there at the airport and  tied it down securely.  Had to dig into our bags looking for the jacket we thought we might need in the northern states!  Who knew the temperature would be COLD here!!!(hot as heck in Iowa City, IA)  We ran over to join our friends Lin and Susan,  Team 12, and Rebecca and Joyce, Team 1, who had been waiting for us.  Everyone decided to head out to Alliance, NE with the exception of Team 13!!!  We'd fought the wind and weather to get here and decided to stay overnight in Grand Island.  Glad we did!  The folks at the airport called the hotel for us to get transportation and a nice rate! Uncle Ed's Steakhouse was across the street where we enjoyed a very tasty prime rib and made our strategy for the next day.  Next morning we left for the airport to make our way to Alliance, NE.  In our excitement of getting there the day before unharmed, we'd left our Master Switches on by mistake!  DRATS!!  Those fantastic men helped us with a jump and off we went!  Before we left, though, they had this HUGE wooden cowboy riding an airplane in front of their building.  PIRATE ATTACK!  Great experience in Grand Island, NE.  Thanks so much for your help and hospitality!!!



Heading out to Alliance, NE



Prime rib dinner at Uncle Ed's Steakhouse
Grand Island, NE







Hello, Alliance, NE!!



HOW DO YOU COOK A FROG?

We enjoyed a wonderful ALL RACERS SAFETY SEMINAR given by WINGS Nadine Yeager of the Memphis FAASTeam.  We each received WINGS Credit for attending this MANDATORY seminar. The synopsis of her talk was simply this . . . How do you cook a frog?  Put him in cold water where he's very comfortable, turn up the heat very, very slowly.  Sooner or later he's cooked but he didn't even realize it was happening!  Don't let that happen to YOU!

Briefing, Briefing . . .WHOOPS! Let's START Over?

Today has been quite interesting, to say the least!  We began with an ALL RACERS FLY BY BRIEFING at 8 am, SEMINAR ON SAFETY at 10am,  ALL RACERS OUTLOOK Wx BRIEFING at 11:15am and a FIRST TIME RACERS CLINIC at 1pm!  The weather is not cooperating to begin the race tomorrow.  We were told that we 'may' be delayed on Tuesday and to 'plan' on departing after the weather clears IF/WHEN it does!  Very frustrating for everyone.  We made sure we had another night reserved in our comfy hotel room here in Iowa City.  DONE, right?  NO!  During our evening meal with more NEW friends (Team 1 Joyce Wilson and Rebecca Hempel AND Team 31 Janet Yoder and Ann Shaneyfelt) Rebecca announced "Wait, hold on, we have a new eRacer(message)...we have a new START...Alliance, NE...race TERMINUS will be delayed to sunset in Mobile, AL".  At the present we have 2 reservations in 2 different towns for tomorrow night!!  AARRRGGGGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL RACER'S TAKEOFF BANQUET



Peggy and Julie


 Wow!  Julie and I have met so many wonderful teams of Women Pilots! Last night (Sunday) was our first big 'dress up' affair!  Everyone is SO excited for our START, which we hope will remain Tuesday morning.  Weather is not looking good at this point.  We may be staying another night??!!!  Another thing to be concerned about!?!  No fear, we, as Pirates, can handle anything!  AaRrRgGgGhhH!!!!

ALL RACERS BRIEFING #1



Airport Diagram for Brookings, SD



Happy Father's Day to all you fathers!  Julie and I attended our 1st ALL RACERS BRIEFING today.  The Directors of the Air Race Classic 2011 have worked very hard at making this event very safe for all of the teams.  There were 4 teams that dropped out leaving 46 teams to begin the START at Iowa City, IA, Tuesday, June 21st. We know Team 13 will be very lucky!!!




 

Girls Take Flight & Young Eagles

125 Eastern Iowa Western Illinois Girl Scouts were invited into the Iowa Children's Museum Take Flight! exhibit and camped out last night.  This highly interactive aviation exhibit started as a small iniative by the Friends of Iowa City Airport that grew with support from Rockwell Collins and launched beyond their wildest dreams with a multi-year grant from NASA.  This morning these girls traveled to Iowa City Airport for a picnic lunch, spent time with racer volunteers on the ramp and learned more about air racing, airplanes, and our flying experiences.  Julie and I volunteered to mentor a group of 21 of these excited 'future women pilots', showing them the airport facility and other various exhibits on the ramp.  After our time with these children, they enjoyed a Young Eagles event  hosted by the EAA Chapter 33, which are celebrating their 50th year! 

Our Supportive Families




Peggy's grandson, Burns!

 




Julie's husband, Howard!




 



Our team departed  Hernando, MS (H75) today where we said 'So Long' to our families for the next 10 days... ;(...  what would we do without them in our lives!!?! Julie and I are so appreciative for each one of you.  We love you so very much.  We each had family 'get togethers' before we left our homes.  We wanted  to share a few photos taken during those farewell parties!  Thanks for supporting us as we participate in this historical event, 35th Air Race Classic 2011!



Julie's sons, Ben and Marshall!

 

Julie's mom, Ann!

 


Julie's brother Matt and neice Erica!



Julie's neices, Alayna and Laura!



Julie's sisters-in-laws, Lisa and Ruth!



Julie's brother Andy and dad Carter!



Peggy's grandaughter, Vida!




Peggy's grandson, Chip!



Peggy's grandson, George!



Peggy's son, Chuck!




Peggy's daughter-in-law, Ginny!

 



Peggy's husband, Charles!

 



Peggy's German Shepherd!

 



 































 


 





















The Stearman

Julie and Peggy have the Mississippi River in common, BUT that's not what brought them together!!!  Peggy and her husband, Charles, bought their 1940 Boeing PT17 Stearman in 2007.  Our very first fly-in was in Cleveland, MS.  Julie and her husband, Howard, and their 2 sons attended this event in their Maule airplane, which we will actually fly during the race. Little did we know our friendship had only just begun AND that we had 'great taste' in airplanes! Julie and Howard had looked at OUR Stearman while shopping for a bi-plane of their own unbeknownst to us! Not only that, but had been looking at most every bi-plane WE had gone to see before purchasing this one!! Too funny (and strange)!!!  We became fast friends to say the least.!!! Each couple tries to attend several fly-ins each year that are Stearman oriented.  One of these is the National Stearman Fly-In held in Galesburg, IL.  The above photo was taken last year (2010) at their 39th event!  Peggy and Charles' plane is in the foreground with Julie and Howard's in the background. http://www.stearmanflyin.com/

We'd like to thank Diane Stickle for the patches for our shirts!!  Thank's for 'digging them out' of your many boxes in storage!!  http://www.stearman.net/

Sadly to say we've lost a very good friend in our Stearman family this past May.  Don Buck was always eager to help anyone!  He was so warm in making sure you knew who he knew and what he knew about the Stearman!  He and his wife, Ruth, 'gathered' Charles and me up the very first time we met them(first fly-in at Cleveland, MS), just like a mother hen!! Don attended every event in Galesburg, IL and had the same #3 spot on the front row each year.  He was loved by many and will be greatly missed.  Julie and I will be racing in his memory. Ruth will be cheering us on to victory!

The photograph to the left is Don and his lovely wife Ruth flying their beautiful Stearman in Jennings, LA!!www.jenningsstearmanflyin.com

Julie and Howard flying their Stearman to Jennings, LA from Swamp Smith's famous fish fry!

 Peggy and Charles' Stearman at sunset in Oxford, MS.

Our Tensas Parish grandsons on the wing of our Stearman!

Did I mention there was PAPERWORK???

A pilot has many responsibilities, especially if you're the Pilot in Command and use your plane in the Air Race Classic!  You have to make sure your airplane conforms in every respect to the R U L E S !  Certificates, papers, logbooks, documents, and FAA regulations are just part of it.  She also has to make sure we have current charts, she and her Team members have all required licenses and logbooks, and airplane inspections at the Start and Terminus and everywhere in between if need be.  Julie, you're the best!!!  Thanks so very much!  NOW, let's go win this race!

Pirates Got A Treasure

Thank you, thank you and thank you again!  Julie received a nice package from  Wup at Alaskan Bushwheels!  We are so appreciative of all these wonderful items and for your support!!!! 

Our Adoptees have been Assigned!

Julie and I received 'word' yesterday that our Adoptees are Trinity Stroud, age 11 and Aliyah Zdeneck, age 12!  We can hardly wait to meet these two young ladies that have the desire to pilot an airplane  as we have! Becoming a Pilot has been one of the most fulfilling accomplishments I've ever experienced.  We will share our thrills with being women pilots with Trinity and Aliyah.  I'm sure we'll learn much more from them!!! 

'SPONSOR MAKES DONATION FOR SILENT AUCTION'

One of our sponsors is making a donation for the Silent Auction being held at the Terminus Banquet in Mobile, AL.  We're SO excited!  It is a Dancing Parrot.........yes, a parrot that 'dances' on a metal rod after you place it in your yard!!!  It's a yard ornament.  What is normally on a Pirate's shoulder, his companion of sorts, none other than the Parrot!!!!  Thanks TAKE SHAPE FOR LIFE!  You're the best!!!  http://www.gettinghealthy4life.tsfl.com/  Oh, check out their website to see their product!

Mississippi River/Memphis, TN

More flood pictures of  'Ole Man River in the Memphis, TN area, during the rising in May, not the recession occuring at the present!

The picture above is during the recession, showing MUD left behind!