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Ok, So Here's Day Three...The Banquet

6/22/2011

Sunday night was a beautiful celebration of the many dedicated years of women flyers participating in The Annual Air Race Classic. It was also an introduction of all the race teams. The excitment filled the air as each team walked up front to receive a token of appreciation: The 2011 Air Route Charm Pendant. Joyce is wearing hers now! I of course enjoyed the team pics....Smile for the Camera!

"We love our 'Team Bessie' dresses! :-)"

Pilots who have participated in this historic event for at least twenty-five races were honored tonight, and rightfully so. The accomplishments of these women continue to amaze me because some have thousands of hours and never flew for commercial carriers. They accomplished those hours the old fashioned way...Stick and Rudder!

"Veteran Racer, Janet Yoder." (On left)

The Air Race Classic organizers really know how to put together an event. I believe they accommodated each teams needs with a pleasant dining experience. The menu for the evening included a three entree selection: Prime Rib, Salmon or Chicken En Croute. They even catered to my (FOODIE!) vegetarian needs. The banquet was a relaxing evening for what's to come Monday morning....WEATHER! Stay tuned, it's starting to get interesting...Athina

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"Team Bessie" Press Release & Topeka Capital Journal Story

6/21/2011

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Team Bessie Press Release

Topeka Capital Journal Story

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

6/20/2011

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      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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Ok, So Here's Day Three...The Banquet

"Team Bessie" Press Release & Topeka Capital Journal Story

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

GIRLS RULE!!!

Day 1 of the Experience...

Pilot: Susan

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