2017 Air Race Classic

The 2017 Air Race Classic has come to an end. We had so much fun; flew over 3,000 miles with the before, during, and after stages; visited new places; enhanced our piloting skills; and spent time with so many wonderful people. 

Our time in Santa Fe was fantastic. We went for a hike, visited the Georgia O'Keefe museum and Meow Wolfe, and enjoyed walking around the historic town. 

Sunday nights's banquet was exciting for all of us. Classic Racer #29 is thrilled to have achieved 4th place as well as awards for the fastest family team and the fastest Piper team. 

Thank you for supporting us in our love of flying, racing and adventure.  With love to you all!

Finished!!

Classic Racer #29 successfully completed the Air Race Classic yesterday. We arrived at Santa Fe airport just prior to 3pm.  Exhilarated, relieved, and tired are some of the feelings we were experiencing. Immediately we unpacked and cleaned the plane, and turned in our timing devices. 

Caroline and Bill marvelously coordinated a family get together here in Santa Fe. We are enjoying relaxing with our loved ones and attending to he final Air Race appointments. Sunday evening, tomorrow, brings the final banquet with awarding of prizes and celebration of the racers. We met with the judges this afternoon and leaned that we will receive penalties. We are disappointed though proud of our achievements. 

Here are a few photos from our final racing legs and visiting in Santa Fe.

 

   

 

    

Race day #3

Awoke to clear skies and cool temperatures. We are excited to fly on to the South.  For now we are waiting for a storm system along the route to pass to the east. 

Greetings to you from the North. 

 

  

June 21, 2017

This morning we awoke to find the end  of a storm moving through.  Here is a shot of our plane on the ramp at Indianapolis Regional airport. 

 

Yesterday's flights in to Indiana were warm, slow and bumpy. We had a nice evening meal with Cara and Mia, and an early wake up call came very soon. 

After some waiting for improvements in the conditions ahead we blasted off to the North.  This was to be the longest leg at 333nm.  Completing the leg with the appropriate fuel reserves was a concern and thanks to fine planning and luck of the winds we did fine. 

Our route took us across Illinois, and across the Mississippi River to Iowa. 

 

In Decorah, Iowa we were greeted by friendly folks at the airport and the fueling was super efficient!  A menacing storm was headed in from the West. We made a quick turn and dashed on to the next stop. 

On to Minnesota. 

Again we had done favorable winds. After yesterday's headwinds this was a treat. 

Here is a photo of Classic Racer 34 over one of the many lakes we passed en route to Bemidji. 

 

Snippets from race day #1

This morning was beautiful as we awoke early for the final pre-race briefing and trip to the airport.  The excitement and anticipation was palpable in our meeting. Lovely Patti drove us out to the airport. Reuniting with the plane was a thrill. The start was delayed about an hour. We are not sure why there was a delay. Just after 08:30 we departed in the middle of the pack and headed for Ohio. Into the headwinds. 

The first flyby was at Millersburg, Ohio. Then on to Indy Regional. 

Follow us via the links on the air race classic website. 

www.airraceclassic.org

If you are familiar with forrflight you will know how exciting it was to be flying s close to our fellow racers in this screen shot 

Frederick

Yesterday team #29 completed the aircraft inspection process, handed in the keys and sighed in relief. Later in the morning we enjoyed a terrific walking tour in downtown Frederick with Chris Smith. In the afternoon we participated in a youth aviation event.  Seeing the young girls enthralled with all things aviation is delightful. In the evening the festivities continued at the minor league ballpark. The hometeam- The Lynchburg team defeated the hometown Keys. Prior to the start of the game there was recognition of the heritage of the Air Race Classic and a dramatic flyover. And - A ukulele band provided the national anthem.

Here are a couple of photos of the plane upon arrival and parked out on the field in Frederick. Frank and Will so kindly helped with the tie downs in the hard crumbly ground. 

Happy Fathers Day

Today we have completed the first day of race briefings and this evening we enjoyed the Start banquet. 

I have been having problems uploading photos and am trying to persevere with what I know so far about using the blogger program. 

Here is Classic racer 29 at the banquet. Stasi Poulos from Mindset Aviation shared a presentation about the innovative technologies with flight simulation.  Tomorrow we will receive the final briefings on the Start and Terminus, the fly-bys, weather and a safety feature.  Looking forward to seeing cousin Patti tomorrow.