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Day 4 of the Experience...THE BEST LAID PLANS!!!!

6/20/2011

      OK, so where is Day 2 and 3???? I know, I'll get back to them tomorrow.

      But, today was a BIG and somewhat DISAPPOINTING day for all the ladies of the 2011 Air Race Classic. If you been following the weather these past few days, you know that severe systems have been going through the northwest and midwest bringing weather not suitable for VFR flying and commencing of the ARC. Today has been a day where we've been all sitting on the edge of our seats and hoping that things would change in the weather department. But, it looks as if that's not going to happen. We've had several comprehensive weather briefings throughout the day and the forecast is not favorable or promising to fly the air race as planned. So a tough decision had to be made by the Board of Directors of Air Race Classic. As of approx 5:30 CST today, the 2011 Air Race Classic is changed as follows: 1) the official start of the air race is changed to 12:00 noon CST, Wednesday, 22 June; 2) the offical end time is changed to 17:59 CST, Friday, 24 June; 3) the official starting airport is now Alliance Airport (KAIA), Alliance, NE; and 4) the Brookings, SD; Jamestown, ND; Spearfish, SD; and the Rawlings, WY stops have been cancelled.   As I mentioned, the racers are disappointed because after the many briefings and training sessions, the adrenaline was pumping, and we were all ready to get in our cockpits tomorrow and let the race begin! But, we have a wonderful board of directors whose primary focus is the safety and well-being of the racers and their airplanes and maintaining the fidelity and integrity of the ARC organization. And so, I believe they made the right call, adjusted the game plan, and set the stage for 46 racing teams to have a fantastic time flying the 2011 ARC competitively, yet safely. Thank you, Marolyn and staff!!! So stay tuned, Bessie Bloggers!!! there's more to follow...Joyce

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GIRLS RULE!!!

6/18/2011

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Yes we do! Hello “Bessie Bloggers” ~~ Today, the Iowa Municipal Airport was beaming with cute little Girl Scouts and EAA #33 Young Eagles Club Members. All gathered together today to participate in the many aviation activities hosted by Air Race teams.
It is quite inspirational to see enthusiasm in these young girls as they eagerly took part in mocked traffic pattern take-offs, approaches and landings. I was impressed by the many hands that went up for questions regarding the compass rose and navigating. The patience the girls shown while awaiting their turn to take flight was astonishing. I believe the future is looking good for female aviators.

The evening wound down with a fun filled hangar barbeque. The atmosphere was set with succulent aromas from the BBQ , baked beans, cole slaw and live "Big Band" music. Joyce chowed down on the food and said the cornbread was…..DELISH!
It was nice dining with Classic Team #50 Holly and Barbara. Combined, they have achieved the most amazing aviation accomplishments. I don't think Holly realizes this but everything she shared (especially her private life challenges) with me has been uplifting and encouraging for me as I continue on this aviation journey.

It’s moments like these that reminds me of how truly blessed I am. Joyce and I are the ONLY African American team participating amongst the most incredible pilots from all over the United States. To be welcomed, encouraged, and even honored by them for our accomplishments says it all. Girls Rule….ABSOLUTELY!!!...Athina

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Day 1 of the Experience...

6/18/2011

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Although I FINALLY got to bed Thursday evening, rather Friday morning, at 0110 and set my alarm for 0615, I was up wide-eyed and bushy-tailed at 0530, so I decided to get on up, dress, check weather, make a quick stop at the church, and get gas to make it to the airport. Well, I really didn't need to check the weather ~~ the thunder was rumbling and the rain was pouring, so I knew a 0900 takeoff was not going to happen. That was somewhat of a relief; I didn't feel so rushed. After checking the weather, it looked like 1000 would be the earliest we could takeoff, so that was ample time to get to the airport, review my logbooks with Keith, my mechanic, and pack the airplane NEATLY :-).
    After arriving, Athina and I carrried out our tasks as if we were on a mission; we were! The plane was packed, fuel was pumped, logbooks were explained, preflight was complete, and we said our goodbyes. Just as I was about to start the engine, Denise from Hetrick Aviation ran out and said Steve Frye from the Topeka Capital Journal was on the line. I ran inside, took his call, and in 10 minutes, he and his photographer were plane side to do a human interest story about our huge upcoming event.   Athina and I smiled for the camera and shared many details about how this whole adventure came to be and what we hope to accomplish. It was a wonderful send off and we are certainly looking forward to reading the finished product as seen through the eyes of Steve Frye.   We departed soon after, embarking upon a history-making journey of a lifetime!
     Athina did another awesome job of flying us to Iowa City! The weather was gorgeous, the flight was smooth and fast, and Athina 'greased' another landing in "The Joybird" from the right seat!!! :-) But prior to arriving, we flew over the airport in Ottumwa, IA and it reminded of the movie "The Tuskegee Airman" because the pilot in the movie played by Laurence Fishburne was from Ottumwa, IA.    This is sure beautiful country out here!!!

KOTM (Ottumwa Airport, IA)

After arriving, we went through the airplane inspection, which can have you sitting on the edge of your seat or biting your fingernails down to nubs :-). But, "The Joybird" came through the inspection with 'flying' colors. Well, she did have one minor hiccup; the landing light didn't work on inspection, however, it was operational when I did my preflight before leaving?????? The mechanics worked on/repaired it (it wasn't the bulb, but, they eventually got it working by jiggling the switch???????? Definitely gonna have Keith figure that out when we get back home.
Following the airplane inspection, we had credentials check and I'm pleased to announce we had every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed; that was a near effortless process. Boy, if the whole race goes this smoothly, we can't help but come out the winners :-). The only thing left to do that day was fly the handicap flight. And that, I was nervous about. After waiting a few hours, it was finally my turn to fly the leg. I flew it with Terry Carbonnell, one of the ARC board members as well as the winning pilot from the 2010 Air Race Classic. That was enough to intimidate anyone :-). Anyway, she made me feel VERY relaxed, walked me through every little detail of the process and what to expect and off we went. The idea for the flight was to determine my true airspeed at 6000' density altitude, running full throttle with the mixture leaned for best power, maintaining a constant altitude and heading for all phases of the flight. (You aviators know what I'm talking about; for the rest of you, give me a call and I'll explain :-)). I would fly a cardinal heading (EAST) for 5 minutes while Terrie would take a reading of my airspeed every 20 seconds. Then I would turn to the next cardinal heading and she'd do the same. This continued until we made a square/rectangle. After she obtained all the readings she needed to calculate my handicap, the flight was done and she directed me to proceed back to the airport. As I mentioned before, no matter how well you fly, pilots are judged by how well they execute a landing. Terry mentioned that she doesn't grade landings, I was just a regular pilot, so get us back to the airport. I maneuvered back to land on Rwy 12 and although Terry said she wasn't judging my landing, I KNEW I had to finish the flight off nicely with a sweet landing. My approach was nice and stable and when I crossed the threshold, I felt a 'greaser' coming on :-). The next thing I heard was Terry say, "I don't grade landings, but if I were grading that one, it would have been an A+". Coming from Terry, I know you can imagine the grin that was plastered on my face.
I got to my parking spot on the grass, tied "The Joybird" down for the night, and believed I was looking upon the 2011 Air Race Classic winning airplane.:-)...Joyce

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Welcome to The Heartland....Iowa City, Iowa

6/17/2011

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      This morning, I was awakened to the sound of thunder. I'm usually in awe of thunder and lightning rain storms; I curl up in my snuggie and enjoy the beauty of the earth being cleansed. However, when I'm scheduled to depart and arrive on-time to the starting point of the 2011 Air Race Classic...I NOT LIKE SO MUCH!
     I jumped out of bed, knocked on Joyce's door only to find out she's already up and running the last few errands before our departure.....talk about energy, she ROCKS! When she returned, we both looked at each other and said "gotta wait it out...again".
     The good news is, we didn't have to wait too long this time. The thunder and lightening show ceased and the rain dissipated. When the overcast sky broke, it turned out to be a beautiful day. I flew the first leg of our air race adventure and although it was a bit turbulent, we made it to Iowa City, IA (KIOW) in two hours. I've got to tell you "Bessie Bloggers" my landing ROCKED!!!!! I love that cute little Beechcraft Sundowner a.k.a. "The Joybird."

Finally, I cannot close without mention of the warm welcome EVERYONE has shown here at the race start. The race organizers, FOB (fixed base office) employees, mechanics and AWESOME volunteers have been friendly, professional, and more than willing to accommodate our aircraft needs to the fullest. "Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa". Thank you so much for your heartland hospitality Iowa City, Iowa.
One more thing, I was so happy to see and be recognized by familiar faces from my first air race classic experience in 2009. The joy of coming together with these incredible women to share laughter, memories, and the most intriguing aviation stories makes the hard work and dedication it takes to participate in this air venture worth every exasperating day. Blessings Bloggers!...Athina

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Let's Get Ready To Rumble!!!

6/17/2011

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    Yesterday I arrived home from my last work trip before the "BIG" air race.....EXHAUSTED! I had just enough time for a quick layover at home, un-pack and re-pack for my flight to Kansas City. Well, I made both flights (Dallas, TX change over) and to my surprise, I actually got assigned seats that were NOT the jumpseat....YIPPEE!!!
     Joyce picked me up and we hit the ground running! So much to do...put race numbers on the plane, maintenence sign-off regarding the plane (maintenence....WHAT?!), wash the plane...etc. etc. etc....! I watched her hurried pace and smiled when she talked about her excited yet nervous stomach. I smiled because I know exactly how she feels. Her adreneline is starting to kick in but she hasn't seen anything yet! When we get that departing time slot and cue to take flight.....WOW that's when her stomach is really gonna rumble but Joyce is such a trooper, I know she's up for the challenge.
     While enroute to pick up a few items for the flight to Iowa City, Joyce asked me if I'm nervous, I replied...No. I'm so relaxed (wink, wink for the moment) because I simply feel blessed and highly favored to participate in such an event that may forever be a valued part of aviation history. It was NOT by accident that we were brought together as a team. We're bringing home first place medals Bessie Bloggers....I can feel it! Catch that jet stream winning Spirit and feel it too!
     Well bloggers, it is getting late and the day has been quite long. That said, It is time to close for the moment so that I might get a good nights rest. I want to be refreshed for the flight to "The Heartland" but the excitement is starting to build and I think my tummy's starting to RUMBLE....! Good Nite BLOG HEADS; see ya in Iowa...Athina

I hardly slept Wednesday evening (didn't get home from church until 12:25 a.m. Thursday morning, but, that's a story for another time:-)) in anticipation of all the last minute things I needed to take care of Thursday. At 0530, Athina text'd me to say she was on the 0600 flight from Miami and would be in KC by 1045. It was a gray, overcast morning, but I had a plan and timeline for getting things accomplished. I visited with some friends until it was time to pick up Athina, and by 1030 it was raining. After collecting Athina, we headed back to Topeka, ordered takeout from Olive Garden, and reviewed our game plan for the remainder of the day. While Athina was home unpacking, repacking, and making pre-departure contacts, I made a bank run, post office run, and church run (had to brief my substitute on managing those 4 & 5 yr-olds for the next two weeks:-)). I also needed to make sure that "The Joybird" was ready; Keith, my mechanic, discovered last Friday that she needed a new muffler. I contacted Keith and true to form, "The Joybird" was ready. Athina and I headed to the airport to 'christen' "The Joybird" by gracing her beautiful empennage with the official 2011 Air Race Classic (Winning) No. 37 ~ YAY!!!! :-).
We cleaned the area where the numbers were to be affixed and very meticulously measured and applied the '3' and the '7' on each side. Although some air bubbles snuck in here and there, "Team Bessie" and "The Joybird" were now officially ready to take flight as Classic Racer 37!!! Iowa City, here we come!!! :-)...Joyce

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Day 4 of the Experience...THE BEST LAID PLANS!!!!

GIRLS RULE!!!

Day 1 of the Experience...

Welcome to The Heartland....Iowa City, Iowa

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!!!

Pilot: Joyce

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