Team assembling in Silver City, New Mexico and departing for the race start

We are assembled again as a team. Cara and Lydia arrived in Silver City late in Thursday the 16t, after losing no delays in Albuquerque due to aircraft arriving late out of Texas. The smoke from the Dog Head fire south and east over the ridge from ABQ was remarkable, rising high above Manzano.  Big fire 

On the way to silver city we flew over another blaze called the North fire, near Socorro. 

Bill and Caroline met the arriving teammates at Grant County airport and all returned for a hearty home dinner.  With anticipatory thoughts of the next day's flight the team did not get top sleep yet awoke energized nonetheless. Even with the the last minute arrangements and packing we were ready to go at 0700. Cara and Lydia had not flown the race plane for a bit so some review was in order, a couple of turns around the pattern, and away to the west. The plane was smooth and clean and everything was in order. Bill was great help maneuvering the plane, shuttling us and closing up the shop. Thanks!! 

Our friend Fred was also at the airport for the send-off. 

10 Days

The Race starts in 10 Days.  Yippeeee!  So exciting.

We are finishing our to-dos, jobs, projects and readying for the journey. 

Look what happened on Thursday-

Congratulations Cara! 


It's hot out here.  We are watching the Tenderfoot Fire which has been burning near the community of Yarnell about 40 miles SW of Prescott.  When I first learned of the fire on Thursday it was covering 300 acres.  As of today the report shows 4040 acres.  Bill Baldwin reported seeing smoke in the distance in Silver City! 

http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4774/

The forecast for Prescott over the next 10 days shows high [100+ for highs!!] temperatures for next weekend when we will all be convening in the area.  Good news is that there are no significant storm systems in the forecast.  Typical late afternoon thunderstorms will pop up with SW wind. 


This morning Lydia and Chantelle attended the Colorado 99s chapter airmarking event in Longmont, CO.  Chantelle is a new friend from Laramie, WY.  She spent the past week doing glider training and ground school camp at the Owl Canyon Gliderport in Colorado, and stayed with Lydia and Marc.  The Longmont airport was full of air traffic including ultralights and sky diving.

13 days Until Race Start

One week from tomorrow Cara and Lydia will depart from home to meet up with the team.  Caroline and Fred have been diligently, with dedication, perseverance and care, completing the final stages of preparing the plane for racing. 

On the 17th N15695 will depart Silver City and its cozy hangar for the summer adventures.  At this time the forecast for the Prescott area is favorable.  Hot, dry. 

We are so very grateful for the countless hours, patience, kindness, inspiration, motivation and support of our friends and family. 

Flying Fun

Race preparations continue...

In New Mexico N15695 is undergoing final readiness for the journey to Prescott in 10 days.  Waxing, oil change, packing.

Lydia and Marc enjoyed a flight in Northern Colorado this morning.  The original plan was to fly to Laramie but up around the CO-WY border things started to get bumpy so turned back to Fort Collins.  We took our friend Stephanie on her first GA flight. 

Where have we been and what have we been doing?

 

The Baldwin Family Flyers

Where have we been and what have we been doing?




Caroline has had a wonderful year filled with books, singing, tennis, pickleball and travel. 
A trip to New Zealand and Australia in the fall with sisters was a highlight. 

 

 

 

 

Lydia completed a Masters in Nursing and continues to love life in Fort Collins, CO. 
Flying fun over the past year included returning N15695 to Silver City in November, and a beautiful fall flight to Steamboat, CO.

Cara just completed her second year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.  After achieving her Commercial rating in February, Cara has been working on the Multi-add on and learning new aircraft.  Yes!! 

The race last year was magnificent.  Wow. We had fun, worked hard, sweated liters and navigated our way to Fairhope, Alabama. The 2015 race was hot, and low over the middle states and middle Appalachian area, North to Kalamazoo, and West just as far as Kirksville, Missouri. We zigzagged up and down, looking ahead to try and comprehend the winds and weather. 

This year will be our fifth year racing as a team.  Last year was the first year we were not delayed in an undesirable way. There were 9 legs; each team member flew 3 legs. Following a flight leg, the pilot cycled to the back and the team continued with maximum refreshment. We worked well together, tightened the camaraderie, and enhanced flying skills.  There are race rules, and there are always the FARs.  Always learning and reviewing. 

This year will be a new challenge.  22 days 'til Race Start...

 

Memorial Day 2016



Baldwin Family Flyers near the pier in
Fairhope, Alabama at the terminus of the 2015 ARC

This year 54 teams are flying the race on a route that is honoring colleges and universities that have a specialization in aviation. 

19 of the teams are student teams from: Texas State Technical College, Indiana State University, University of North Dakota, Liberty University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott and ERAU-Daytona Beach, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Purdue University, Minnesota State University Mankato, Western Michigan University, LeTourneau University, Kent State University and Lewis University.  Wow!  So many student teams - inspirational and quite exciting.

Over four days, for a total race distance of 2362 nautical miles or 2719 statute miles the teams will compete to fly the best cross country flight. 

Noteworthy for this Memorial Day is the news from two weeks ago that the President signed a law allowing the Women's Airforce Service Pilots to be laid to rest at Arlington cemetery.  Passed by the house in March, and by the Senate earlier in May, the WASPs, pioneering pilots are most deserving of this honor..
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36316118

Bev Weintraub, fellow racer wrote this article:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/05/19/eight-decades-after-amelia-earhart-made-history-lets-celebrate-todays-women-pilots.html

Another piece of news recently about the ARC that includes mention of the Baldwin Family Flyers:
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2016/may/10/all-female-air-race-classic-honors-aviation-colleges
The photo at the top of the article shows our race plane with #13.  That year we had a super hot start at Lake Havasu, Arizona. 

2016 Air Race Classic

We are back!  It's us - The Baldwin Family Flyers.  Caroline, Lydia and Cara are in the midst of the final three weeks of race preparations.  The 2016 Air Race Classic starts on June 21 in Prescott, Arizona.  The team will convene on the 16th in Silver City, New Mexico and then fly together to Prescott on the 17th.

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What an exciting route!  The Baldwin Family Flyers are racing again as team #29.
More to come soon.