It's early, the adrenaline is pumping, and I'm nervous as all get out!!!:-) This is the last leg! Many of the racers made it on into Mobile yesterday, but the bulk of us are here at KELD, so getting out this morning is going to be 'dicey'! It's 06:22 and our driver will be here in 50 minutes, so I'll get off the computer for now, and catch back up with you when we arrive in Mobile and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief: the racing part of Air Race Classic is almost over. See you in Mobile!...Joyce
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Oh, this was going to be a long but good day; I didn't get much sleep, but we were going to be meeting Bessie Coleman's great niece, Dr. Jilda Motley from Tulsa, OK, so we had to make it work! I'll tell you the rest of the story later...Joyce
(P.S. As you can see, I've gotten behind in my blogging (thank goodness for Athina) but I will catch you up, so stay tuned :-)). Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 1200 CST in Alliance, NE (KAIA) marked the official start of 2011 Women's Air Race Classic -- YAY!!! :-) It was exciting, thrilling, a little nerve-wracking, and amazing to watch 45 race teams scrambling to get ready for the flag to drop for the "flying" of this year's ARC. Team Bessie arrived in Alliance for the start after dark Tuesday evening with, you guessed it, no landing light! I 'thought' it was repaired at KIOW ($78.00 later), and it did work on preflight departing there, but, when we needed it most, 'no joy.' Anyway, the great folks at Heartland Aviation, Alliance, NE fixed us right up. We arrived at the airport on race morning nervous (just like I'm sure all the other racers were) but, with ample time to get the maintenance done on the airplane. The airport/FBO is family run, so Mom, Dad, sons, daughters, grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins were all available to help any racer with her specific needs. The two little grandsons (probably 8 and 9 years old were running around or rather 'driving' around in the golf cart in and out of planes attending to the needs of all us 'old ladies.' They were darling!!! :-). Anyway, "The Joybird" was towed into the hanger, Larry the maintenance man, immediately troubleshot and determined the problem, installed the new light, and "The Joybird" was towed back out, ready to fly!   Even though this a day VFR- only race, the landing light is mandatory for
conducting the "low approach, full power" flybys; no landing light~~penalty points assessed. After the repair, we did all the necessary final preflight prep including, adding oil, cleaning the bugs off the windscreen, leading edges, propeller, under wings, and anywhere we saw one of those critters residing :-). We got the inside of the cockpit and airplane organzied as neatly as possible so we could execute our CRM (cockpit resource management) efficiently. At 11:15 a.m., an all-racers departure briefing was conducted inside the FBO and at 11:40, the racers were released to start their engines and begin taxiing in race-number sequence to departing Runway 26 for the departure flyby. During the departure flyby (which occurs at each stop if you land) the racer goes out a reasonable distance (based on her airplane), maneuvers to return and approach the designated runway at her fasted speed, wings level, landing light on, and usually 200 or 300 feet above the ground. Each airport has a detailed, specific departure procedure (i.e. fly over the runway, fly to the right or left of the runway, etc.) that must be executed precisely or penalties are assessed. At 12:00, Classic Racer 1 was released to conduct her departure flyby, and the ARC officially began. The ladies were all lined up and being Classic Racer 37, we were a ways back, however, many of the racers opted not to go in this first gaggle, so even though we were No. 37, we actually took off in probably slot 27 or 28. We were airborne for our departure flyby at 12:29. More to follow...Joyce "IT LOOKS LIKE A GOOD DAY TO FLY." Thank you Thelma Rudd, (President of The Bessie Coleman Foundation) for that quote you've coined. And yes, it was a good day to fly. However, the flight from Borger, TX (KBGD) into Norman, OK (KOUN) although picturesque and serene, didn't compare to what awaited our arrival in OK; home of our team's namesake....Bessie Coleman. Oh, the anticipation of doing the fly-by (first things first, we're still here to race and WIN!!), spruce up the make-up, and meet the living heir of Queen Bessie... Dr. Jilda Motley, great niece of the Historic Bessie Coleman! Dr. Motley and her husband, Herman, greeted us at the Oklahoma University Airport with open arms. Joyce whispered to me, "she looks so much like Bessie, she's beautiful." I replied, "yes she is." We were both in awe of this woman who continues to keep her great-aunt's legacy alive. It was an honor chatting with Dr. Motley about her relation's to Bessie Coleman (her paternal grandmother is Bessie's sister), and future plans the family has to obtain rights to their heritage. She even mentioned a movie deal in the works. Could there be a part in it for Joyce and me.....? Ok, Ok, "Bessie Bloggers," you know that's me talking, so just a small part in it for me :-). The finale: Dr. Motley wearing a beautiful sky blue Bessie Coleman "Continue The Legacy" t-Shirt. I couldn't allow our meeting to end without a photo op. We all gathered together (along with Marian P. Brown, Academic Advisor Department of Aviation University of Oklahoma) for pictures.   The finale: Dr. Motley wearing a beautiful sky blue Bessie Coleman "Continue The Legacy" t-shirt. I couldn't allow our meeting to end without a photo op. We all gathered together (along with Marian P. Brown, Academic Advisor, Department of Aviation, University of Oklahoma) for pictures.
Joyce and I are proud to represent Dr. Motley's family in the Air Race Classic. We will honor her spirit and hold it dear as we cross the finish line. Upon our departure, Dr. Motley mentioned that she and her husband would stay and watch "Team Bessie" take flight. The gleam in her eyes and joyous smile assured me that she is quite proud of us, too... Athina That’s right folks, you’ve got to put some muscle into it. Hammer Time, Joyce! Doesn’t she make tying an aircraft down look elegant in that Tiara?   So, it’s Day Five and we’re gearing up to depart. Although we’re departing to Alliance, NE due to horrendous weather (and the cancellation of three legs), everyone’s still excited to get going. As we check-out of the hotel, our Fan Club arrives wearing their bright yellow “Team Bessie”T-Shirts. It was such a pleasant surprise to see these young ladies (Joyce’s students) take great interest in this race by coming out in support of their teacher. They came to the airport carrying signs of support and wearing tiaras too! Thanks ladies. I’d also like to extend a special thank you to Joyce’s colleague, Master Sergeant Robert Thadison and his wife, Linda for making the four and a half hour drive from Topeka, KS with these students to Iowa City, IA just to see us take-off. Now that’s dedication. That in itself is testimony of the dynamic woman pilot and teammate I am so honored to fly with. Thanks for the opportunity Joyce; Sincerely.  In spite of the awful weather, Joyce and I were able to make it to Alliance after a
full day of flying, dodging weather, an almost balked landing (Crete, NE) and a cat chasing me around the FBO. We’re either crazy or have a great love of flight. I’m sure it’s our love of flight because we’d do it in tiaras too!...Athina |
Pilot: Joyce"I believe we can fly this!" Archives
January 2022
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