Well the day starts early in racing to try to beat the heat and chances of building afternoon weather. Last reports indicate that the team likely got airborne by 0800H Central heading North to the Missouri checkpoint.
There is some smattering of light rain possible as the Missouri checkpoint is on the trailing edge of a weather system hanging over the Great Lakes region. It is unlikely that other than light turbulence this will cause no major distraction for the team. Since this is the longest leg of the race, it is very likely the team will put down for fuel and a break. The flight should take approximatley 2.5 hours.
The next stop also looks great down to Murphysboro, IL. There are no reported radar or weather issues anywhere in Southern Missouri or Illinois at this time. Though not as great of a concern today, the team will have to be mindful of summer pop-up afternoon thunderstorms not uncommon to this area of the country.
At this point, the team has a decision which is not easy. Although it would be advantageous to fly-by the Illinois checkpoint to continue on back North to Indiana, there are storms reported there for all day. Unless they can time the entry point very carefully, the team could risk time penalties if they have to divert to avoid IFR conditions. Further, the team is ahead of plan currently so no overnight accomodations have been made in Elkhart, Indiana and they are currently booked up. Given these factors, the team may decide to fly and hold for the night in Illinois and get their landing light repaired in hopes of better weather conditions to Indiana and beyond tomorrow? Remember this is all speculation based on reasonable data. Check back often for the crew updates as they become available throughout the day. Cheers!
*BLOGMASTER*
No comments:
Post a Comment