On the way to West Virginia More 6/24

Here a few shots of the scenery on the way to West Virginia. It was very pretty along the route. The people were great but the crew stayed on the other side of the Ohio river in Ohio. The last shot is the best as they used their room to dry out their duds. By the way this hotel was ultra modern. When you got in the room, you put your key card on a plate on the wall, and the lights turn on. When you leave the room and take your card, the lights go off. Very NEAT! More pix from the last day, starting around 6AM central 6/26/10.

*BLOGMASTER*

6/24 Late pictures

Here are a couple of the crew and plane from the West Virginia Leg. Upon inspection the fiber optic that sends a visual confirmation of the red navigation lights was missing. Turns out when Bev and Teresa shook the plane, they could hear the rattle of the little lens. Compare the green nav light for reference. More pictures from this leg around 23:00H Central.

*BLOGMASTER*

The ARC had a nice BBQ meltdown party at the field. Then we saw all these 2-seater helicopters at this school. So Bev and I took half hour helicopter lessons for only $99 each! I actually flew it over the water tower west of the field and followed the fwy to the ridge. Then we hovered high and I turned it around and few it back to the airport. Neal, who owns the flight school, was an exceptional teacher and made it easy to learn. What a blast! --TAC

Took a tour of the AOPA HQ and got to visit the President's office. He was out but he has a nice view of the field. Interesting tour. --TAC

AUDIO: final fly-by & Classic 47 Landing

Well here is a lot of fun recorded by Dan Russell off of ATC.net. The audio file link is here and is 2 minutes long. For the first 50 seconds of the recording, you will hear race team #24 report into the tower. They will use the prescribed fly-by procedures required by all the participants of the Air Race Classic. However note, that this is a busy regional airport which is a very active suburb of Washington D.C. airspace, so there are lots of planes wanting clearance to take-off, helicopters in the pattern, and the air race crews needing a bit more room to do high-speed and low altitude tower fly-bys.

For THIS race, the FAA has assigned our crew the temporary designator (typically known as an N #) of "CLASSIC RACER 47". The crew reports in at 10 miles out at around 54 seconds into the recording. Listen carefully as Classic 47 starts their fast pass, when Teresa calls out for another plane on the ground to 'HOLD SHORT'. Apparently someone inadvertently was beginning to roll-out onto the active runway as Classic 47 was about to pass just 300 feet above at close to 170 miles per hour. There was never any danger, however this shows the potential for incursions and problems that face the racers on every leg. It is a tough business. The final transmission, you will hear Bev call as she turns off the active at marker 'Kilo'.

Thanks again to Dan and Mary Russell for this recording. The crew is very humbled to have the support of such great friends, fans, and of course, Wings of Hope and the rest of our sponsors. We'll post more updates and photos throughout the day as they come in. However the terminus activities are VERY BUSY for the next few hours, so likely photos will be in the later evening. We will continue to update the blog all weekend with any details and stats as they come in.

*BLOGMASTER*

THANK YOU SPONSORS!!!

Obviously it goes without saying, our sponsors help make this race possible. Race teams chew up fuel and without Wings of Hope to help cover the thirsty Cessna's bar tab, the crew (and their families) would have to be scrubbing dishes at each leg of the race just to stay even.

With that said however, sometimes we neglect to mention some of the other oganizations that have the race not only possible but SAFE and fun too.

Without AOPA and their last minute insurance heroics, there is no way most race teams could substitute a plane with less than 48 hours before the reporting deadline. Thank you all for your incredible support and faith that our team would carry-on safely and protected - just in case.

And who can forget Jason and the crew over at Ozark Aircraft Maintenance LLC, in Cameron, Missouri. Not only did they turn our maintenance issues faster than a flapjack, but they are the nicest most honest mechanics you'll ever meet. We are posting their company patch not because we have to, but because THEY EARNED IT!! We will never forget their kindness and sincere effort to get Classic 47 back in the air fast and safely race-ready! Thanks guys. - More updates to follow ...

*BLOGMASTER*

Finished! Yay! We are in Frederick. It was good we waited. Lots of clouds and challenging visibility over mountains but we did great. Couldn't believe the knuckle-headed guys taking off while we're doing a flyby! But we managed. Happy to be safe in Maryland and not on the nightly news for busting ADIZ airspace!--TAC

BREAKING NEWS - Classic 47 does final fly-by

11:06H EASTERN - Bev and Teresa just completed their final fly-by of the 2010 race and are in pattern setting up to land in a one mile final. More news once they are on the ground. The crew appears safe and in good spirits. GOOD JOB LADIES!

*BLOGMASTER*

Crew Prepares for final leg

Well since this is the final leg, it is appropriate that we show a little too! No, it's not like Teresa to lay down on the job and let Bev do all the work but that is what this attached picture implies. The remaining two shots are on 6/25/10 the last day of the race and the ladies are dressed with Wings of Hope in mind.

It appears to be fairly calm weather in the East today. Although that makes for the safest flying, the team has been particularly successful skimming along between layers to pick-up favorable tailwinds and speed. That makes for some turbulent and bumpy flying but kind of like a bucking bronco - FUN TOO!

So unless, the crew can hold out in hopes of a leading edge of a pop-up disturbance, they will likely head on in to the big finish sometime before Noon Eastern. If you check the Air Race Classic website or THIS LINK, they have a feed into the Tower Operations frequency there in Frederick, Maryland. You can listen to the various pilots as they talk to the tower and set-up for their final fly-bys and prepare to land. So check in for updates all day from the crew. Pictures will likely come in later tonight. Wish 'em a safe flight for the final leg. Congratulations are soon to be in order!

*BLOGMASTER*

We're awake! Had a very nice rest, showered, and we are fresh for our final leg looking sharp in our pink WOH jump suits.

The WX is looking clear. We may not have much of a tailwind on this final leg but we're going to look good when we get there! Ha!

Yesterday was nice because we actually ate 2 meals! We're going to have a nice breakfast and the volunteer driver should be here at 8am ET to take us to the airport. --TAC