No one does anything uncharacteristic of who they are.)) Confession.

So, we are still being asked why we got penalized on our final score… Here’s the story.

We have received approach plates and written instructions on fly-by altitudes and procedures for every official stop of the Air Race route.
During the briefings, however, some of the altitudes were changed.
I hear some of you sneering: “Of course you did not listen.” Not so. We did listen!! And we did make corrections on our sheets… Well, some of them.)) We just had too many copies and flew off the wrong ones. So, we flew too low into Stillwater, TX and then flew too low out of it.

Maybe us flying low would have gone unnoticed, but a combination of factors, as always, played role: this was the only airport where we had to fly the timing line directly over the timers. (In all other airports they sat abeam and to the side.) And Mooney is quite loud compared to the placid Cessnas that flew over the timers before and after us. Kind of hard not to notice.))))
So, we were penalized. Rightfully so. This is what flying is all about, after all – paying attention. And using correct info. All fair and still with a happy outcome.)) We played the game and learned from it what we need to apply to other games.

P.S.: We never charged those timers for the haircuts.

THE RACE - Our Journey

Click on the following link to view our course:
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0Nl1EV9hk7DRS26g7nA2hvf1UMRYEImI4

We are in the Top Ten!!

7th Place!!!!!!!!
(would have been 5th without the penalties.)))) Aren't we good?!))))))))
Top Ten By Year: http://www.airraceclassic.org/top10

"Racing is a matter of spirit not strength."
- Janet Guthrie

KAIO. Waiting.

Debriefings. Visiting judges to face penalties. Signing score sheets. We know we are in the top 12... But no info beyond that until the banquet tomorrow. Waiting...

And in the evening we visited our local host family - Laura and Denny Stuetelberg, wonderful people and fantastic hosts. We had an awesome dinner, home-made cherry pie)), great conversations and good laughs. Laura and Denny went out of their way to make us feel welcome.

KRAC to KAIO

This morning we were the first airplane to take off from Racine, WI and in about 2 hours with tailwinds (the first time during this race!) we landed in Atlantic, IA.

No official results yet, but we feel very good about how we did. We rock!!

Honestly, we just rocked during the whole race, almost no screw ups. Waiting for the results, but in either case this was THE MOST AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!!!!!!!

"When you're racing, it's life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting."

- Steve McQueen

KIJX to KRAC

So, today we had a first out_of_the_ordinary experience... We found out that the purpose of a propeller is to keep the pilot cool. If you don't believe it - stop yours and watch how fast you sweat.
Half-way between Jacksonville, IL and Racine, WI our engine started running rough and the airplane started buffeting. Airspeed dropped significantly. Cycling magnetos... runs ok on the right one... left one - out... back to both - very rough. Back to the right one.
The last 84.6 miles we ran on the right magneto, trying to fix the problem, constantly looking for fields, roads and airports to land on, switching frequencies to the closest airports, calling KRAC on the UNICOM and on cell phone, trying to arrange for a mechanic, while evaluating whether we shoud be landing immediately or continuing to KRAC.
The last 20 miles to KRAC were nerve wrecking - densely populated area, then lakes and woods.
We reached the field, made our required race fly-by, climbed to traffic pattern altitude and made a normal landing on Runway 4.

Update: People at the Batten airport were wonderful and tried to help us in every way they could. We got a private tour of The Southeastern Wisconsin Aviation Museum and Chapter 838 EAA building, which is the Taj Mahal of EAA buildings, while Tim Guntly, a local mechanic, and EAA guys called around trying to find a magneto for us. Of course, in the best traditions of the genre, nobody for miles around had it, and it was getting late…

Jessica's dad, Tim Miller, an A&P Mechanic, came to the rescue… he and Uncle Roger flew in a TriPacer from Hutchinson, MN to Racine, WI and delivered the part… Tim (Miller) and Tim (Guntly) made all the necessary repairs, we did the run-up… it sounded divine.

Ready for our last leg tomorrow. KRAC to KAIO.

Tim, Roger and Tim)), THANK YOU SO MUCH!! You saved the day.

KLFK to KRUE to KGNF to KSRB to KIJX

A lot of you called and emailed that SPOT GPS wasn't showing our route for today... Will be replacing batteries tonight.

We are doing well, did three legs so far. Contemplating another one, waiting out T-storms.

Eating enough and staying hydrated, although by now hate the taste of water, and if I eat one more granola bar I will turn into a granola bar.

More updates later tonight.

UPDATE: We decided to go, and made it to Jacksonville, IL (KIJX). It was foggy and looked like the weather was closing in on us on the radar, but our timing was perfect and we remained VFR all the way through.

This was a long day.

Only two legs left!!!!!!

KAPA to KLBL to KSWW to KLFK

"Gentle_and_not_so_gentle_women, start your engines!!"

Classic #31 - Team Right Attitude - on take-off at Centennial Airport, Denver, CO.

KAPA. Day 04.

Sat in the seminars and briefings all day. Lots of information. Good and useful and otherwise.
My favorite piece of wisdom for today came from a weather briefer guy: “Molecules of moisture displace air molecules, that’s why dry air is more dense.” Lots of revelations in such a laconic statement. From the existence of the “moisture molecules” and “air molecules” to the concept of displaced molecules to the fierce reaction between them. Displacement theory is by far the most mesmerizing to me… where do these molecules get displaced to?!... I am sure it is that same mystical dimension where the even-number socks disappear to from the dryer, and I am on the quest to find it.
On the happy note: We were granted a short visitation session with our Mooney today!!!!

KAPA. Day 03.

Today was a day of workshops, receptions, meeting amazing women. Met a WASP Bee Haydu. Realized that a sweet lady who gave us a ride the other day is Emily Howell Warner, the first female air transport pilot for a modern, jet-equipped airline. Consulted again on loading our Mooney with a former CEO of Mooney Airplane Corp Gretchen Jahn. Spent an afternoon with a fellow racer Gene Nora Jessen and then ended up at her book signing event. Watched a documentary about Pancho Barnes and fell in love with her.




And in the evening – planning, planning, planning. The reality starts to set in. WE ARE DOING IT!!!!!!!!



Divided the duties for the race:

Jessica – flying, signing fuel slips
Athina – radio communications, instruments, signing staying-overnight-slips, crew accommodations
Irene – navigation, using winds aloft to our advantage, timing flybys and scoring calculations

This is an unbelievable learning experience. Lots of “firsts.” Class C airspace. Private airports with controlled airspace around them. Leaning at take-off. Having true course differ from magnetic course by 11°. Two-mile-long runways. Lenticular clouds. Flying so low you are almost scraping the ground and having your altimeter read 6500. Our heads are spinning... but if everything seems under control, you are just not going fast enough, right?!

KAPA. Day 02.

Tom Burnside, Athina’s flight instructor flew out to Denver to meet us today. We sat down with him and went over approaches, leaning for density altitude, winds, weight and balance etc.

In the afternoon we went to Denver Jet Center East to meet Girl Scouts and just kids of all ages and talked to them about the Race, airplanes and all things aviation. Seeing their little faces light up was priceless. We met the cutest little girl named Lexi who wants to become a pilot just like her dad, she interviewed us for the Airport Journal.))

In the evening we got to meet all the teams at the Welcome Reception. So many women pilots of all ages and walks of life in one room – that alone made my body temperature go up!! Can’t wait until we get to race!!!

Got to meet Gretchen Jahn, a former CEO of Mooney Airplane Corp. She is racing this year as a part of Classic #20. Gretchen gave us a lot of valuable advice on Mooneys that keeps Jessica and Irene up at this time of the night re-doing weight and balance, trying to come up with creative ways of moving center of gravity to the back without adding much weight. Not sure we are getting closer to solving the problem (as the infamous car designer so accurately pointed out: “It's easier to make horsepower than to loose weight”), but definitely getting good laughs out of it.

Starting to miss our airplane. It was impounded after the inspection on Thursday and we will not be allowed to get near it until the day of the Race.

KLBF to KAPA. KAPA Day 01.

After a short night at North Platte, NE we flew to the Race start airport – KAPA (Centennial Airport, Denver, CO.)
Apparently KLBF is America's first lighted airfield, so of course we had to take pictures. That was an adventure in itself. Let me just say that we’ll take smart over cute any day from now on. After this photo session we are all on the same page about it.

The flight was absolutely beautiful. Thunderstorms were moving in, but we again escaped the bad weather and flew into the sunny, warm, beautiful Colorado! Those mountains are breathtaking. They make this whole adventure seem surreal.

Our Mooney passed the inspection without a problem (well, not counting Jessica sending Irene and Athena somersaulting with a prop blast, but it seems we cannot do anything without laughing about it for half an hour afterwards) around 14:00, and that is when we relaxed and fun began!

We are quickly becoming widely known in narrow circles as three crazy laughing college girls (for some reason everyone assumes we are college girls. don’t ask.) Anticipating imminent popularity among larger groups we even autographed thirty photo cards today. If nobody wants them tomorrow at the Opening Party expect them in your mailbox for Christmas.

We noticed other teams are planning, plotting and stressing… we officially declared today as a kick-back day. All intellectual improvement arises from leisure.
We ate at 3 Margaritas until they ran out of food. We found out Target Photo Center does not believe in usb ports, but we do not take ‘no’ for an answer when we believe there is a better solution, so walked a lot of miles around the town until we got picked up by a Race volunteer and were delivered back to the hotel. We swam in the pool until the hotel ran out of towels. I am wrapping up blogging for today before they run out of internet.

KHCD to KLBF

Hutchinson, MN to North Platte Regional Airport Lee Bird FieldNorth Platte, Nebraska, USA

It took us a while to leave... low ceilings, low visibility, decals to put on, packing and repacking, loosing things, finding things, saying 'good byes'-hearing 'get out of here already', duct-taping equipment and personal belongings (for different reasons)... The flight went smooth. The weather suddenly improved. We didn't get lost. We ate on time and didn't get dehydrated. NE is different. And beautiful (from the air!) The only out of the ordinary event today was meeting Homer... a russian guy once wanted to kill this man (although if you ask me if he wanted to - he would have), his brother invented a word and it was published in a book, if it was not for him - we would have no power lines, he can prove that women do not rule this world... he has everything you need if you are nice to him... but we were not that nice, so we are still in need of lots of things... read about it all in Athina's memoirs that are coming out after this Air Race.

You Are Our Wings

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Some of you brought it to our attention that you have tried to donate through the PayPal Donate button but your credit card was never charged… if you have not received an immediate email with a donation write-off letter – the charge did not go through. Please, try again. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! WE TRULY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT.

THANK YOU everyone for your support and helping us make a difference from above!!

Any amount collected above needs will be given to the Air Charity Network http://aircharitynetwork.org/

We are happy to share our news with you, please check back to our blog for more updates.

Getting Ready

Washing and scrubing the Mooney today. It looks beautiful!!!!!!!!

You Are Our Wings - 11

"Born and raised In Indiana.
First airplane ride in Florida when I was 4 yrs old, and the bug bit then. That was my main drive from then on.
My mother had 2 good friends, when I was growing up, who were W.A.S.Ps during WW 2, and they gave me plane rides in an Ercoupe and a Bonanza when I was in high school. I guess supporting Team 31 is my way, of giving, some payback, to the generosity, of these 2 ladies, and saying thanks to all the women pilots, of that War.
I am very much drawn to WW 2 aircraft.
I have delivered airplanes to Bolivia and Italy as well as domestically including new Mooneys from Kerrville, TX.
I pray for team 31 and I know if they stay focused and supportive of each other they will do well.
I wish Team 31 all Gods speed."
- Tom Burnside
Current Flight Instructor in: SE, ME, Inst, Helo, Helo inst.
A.T.P. in MEL, Helo, and type in DC-3.
TT- 7000

You Are Our Wings - 10

And yet another proud sponsor of Team Right Attitude - Keith Wyman and Aeronca, Inc., our heroes!!!!!!!!

You Are Our Wings - 09

Thank you to Tom Parker and Hutchinson Aviation for your support!!

1800 Butler Field Dr SW

Hutchinson, MN 55350

You Are Our Wings - 08

Huge thank you to Evan Fagen and FAGEN, Inc. for sponsoring Team Right Attitude on our adventure!
http://www.fageninc.com/

Airports, Legs, Distances

You Are Our Wings - 07

THANK YOU so much to Thunderbird Aviation for donating the charts for our trip!
http://www.thunderbirdaviation.com/

The sectionals that we will use during this Race are:

Denver
Wichita
Dallas-Fort Worth
San Antonio
Houston
Memphis
Atlanta
St. Louis
Chicago
Omaha
Kansas City

You Are Our Wings - 06

Tim Miller A&P Mechanic
320-296-524516852 Rum Ave Hutchinson, MN 55350

Thank you, Tim, for letting us fly the Mooney, for working on it and preparing it for the Race, for taking care of every little detail. We know how busy you are and REALLY appreciate that you found time in your busy schedule to do this.

Tim has been flying since he was 16, logged 1,000+hrs, now has a Commercial License and is checked out in 37 airplanes!
He has fully rebuilt an Aeronca Champ, and an EAA Bi-plane, and likes fabric work.
Tim is a President of EAA chapter 951. He was a Boy Scout Leader for many years, and likes encouraging kids to get involved in aviation; he started Explorer Post 951, which is a group for kids 14-21 who gather at the airport twice a month to learn about aviation/flying/mechanics.

THANK YOU, TIM!

You Are Our Wings - 05

Meet another proud sponsor of Team Right Attitude - Rocket 55, a full-service Minneapolis internet marketing firm.

Rocket 55 helps you propel your company to the front of your competition, and makes you look good while doing it.

http://www.rocket55.com/

Check out their blog, too: http://www.rocket55.com/blog/index.html

You Are Our Wings - 04

THANK YOU to Maxwell Aircraft Services, Inc. a proud sponsor of team Right Attitude.

Crystal Airport, Minneapolis, MN 55429
Contact Phone: (763) 533-8611

You Are Our Wings - 03

Thank you to InFlight Pilot Training, LLC, Ben McQuillan and all the wonderful people who attend Saturday morning seminars for your support, sponsorship, friendship.

InFlight is truly a premier flight training school and the best group of people!!

10,000 Flying Cloud Drive

Eden Prairie, MN 55347
http://www.inflightpilottraining.com/

You Are Our Wings - 02

Thank You to Jim Willemsen of Newton Home Oil Co., Inc.

Newton Home Oil Company is a proud sponsor of Right Attitude.



418 N 2nd Ave E,

Newton, IA 50208-3204

Petroleum and Petroleum Products Wholesalers

Go to Newton Home Oil for all your aviation gas and jet fuel distribution needs!

You Are Our Wings - 01

One of the stops we made on our practice run was Aitkin, MN.
There we had a pleasure of meeting Jake Carlson, an amazing woman in charge of Aitkin Airport.
Jake, thank you for your donation and it was a pleasure meeting you!! Hope our passes cross again.

Please, check out KAIT web site and visit this small but very friendly airport – how about hamburger or pizza on their screen porch?!)) http://www.aitkinaviation.com/aavit.htm

Team Right Attitude

This was an unforgettable weekend. We joked, we planned, we laughed, we argued, we flew, we got lost, we found our way... but most importantly - we kept THE RIGHT ATTITUDE!!

Face to Face

Athina's in MSP. We are off to Hutchinson. Lots of new photos to come))

Update

Start and Terminus Registration forms are now due. We have hotel rooms. Things start to fall into place.

N3698N Perfection

"The winner ain't the one with the fastest car, it's the one who refuses to lose."
- Dale Earnhardt

Meet the Team - 3

Jessica Miller. 10 Facts About Me:

1. I'm 18, a senior in high school and am busy getting graduation party things prepared for this spring.

2.I got into aviation mostly because of my Dad and Grandpa, My dad is a fixed wing and helicopter mechanic, and my Grandpa use to fly but he says i'm hogging the plane now :), my great uncle also flys.

3. I have one brother he is 23 and is going to school for tool and die. My mom is also going to school for accounting

4.I will be going to St.Cloud State next fall for an Aviation Mangement degree and look forward to being involved in all of the aviation organizations there! I want to fly professionally!

5.I soloed on my sixteenth birthday 12-24-06 and earned my private pilot license 3-1-08

6.I am participating in the MN Passport program where I am flying to all the airports in Minnesota, going to safety seminars and aviation museums.

7.I am in the Aviation Explorer Post in Hutchinson and have flown to Ohio twice with them, once as a passenger and once as a PIC

8.I plan to complete my instrument rating by the end of the summer which has presently been delayed a bit with school and all of the Air Race preparations

9. I also participate in Business Professionals of America and compete in accounting, and I made it to nationals in this year which was suppose to be held in Dallas May 6-9 but because of the Swine flu Nationals was pushed back to overlap with the air race so I will not be going to BPA nationals- the Air Race is more important!

10. I was also the captain of the girls swim team this fall, I had been in swimming since 5th grade and I also dove on the team since 10th grade. (anything to get in the air!)

11. I like to trap shoot and play soccer and am on teams for both.

12. I work as a cashier at Cash Wise and as a lifeguard year round to pay for flying.

13. I love giving airplane rides to kids! I am a volunteer Young Eagles Pilot. When I was 17 I even gave myself a young eagles ride! (I had my license and was giving rides when I realised I was still of the age to get a ride!)

14. I want to earn my CFI rating to be able to give other young people like myself flight instruction for less cost.

15. I LOVE ANYTING TO DO WITH AVIATION!

So I spilled over to 15... hope thats not a problem!

Meet the Team - 2

Irene Lev. 10 Facts About Me:

1. I love running races - 5Ks and 10Ks (but absolutely no marathons!), bowhunting, flying, skydiving, flying when others skydive (that open door and people hanging off the strut really add to the thrill!!))), skiing, tennis, sailing, target shooting, photography, painting. Not necessarily in that order.

2. I am a member of Ninety-Nines, Women in Aviation International, President of local WRJ Sisterhood and a Vice President of Religion and Education of WRJ Midwest Region, an active life member of Hadassah, constantly participating in its missions to Israel and the Middle East. It is an organization that sets the standard for education, youth programs, and health care in the Middle East, and rushes first to the sites of terrorist attacks, treating patients regardless of their race, religion, political affiliation.

3. Hair color – constant, eyes – pensive, nose – cultured, voice – commander’s, mug – brazen, means of survival – bank account and strong coffee, favorite smell – food!!!!

4. My whole life I am learning to say “no.” On those rare occasions when I finally manage to say it, it turns out that it was just the occasion where it would be much better to say “yes.”

5. I like learning foreign languages – all and any. I love to travel – seeing new faces, people in their native surroundings, old buildings, intricate smells of Mediterranean bazaars, tiny shops that sell rare nonsense, dusty city squares in the heat of the meridional sun, cathedrals, narrow scorching cobblestone streets where every crack screams of history, alluring little cafés of central Europe, where tables knew Hemingway, Saint-Exupery and Nietzsche, and many other unnamed poets, philosophers, artists, just people – happy and holding hands or drunk, deeply miserable… and at night moon and city lights are reflecting in dark waters of the canals… Did I mention I love to travel?!...

6. This is fact number 6.

7. I like the smell of fall showers, burning matches, wet soil, train stations, airports, trains and rail sleepers, the smell of wet burning leaves in fall, fire.

8. I do not like time. it always goes too fast.

9. I strongly believe that any objective reality can be altered by a strong desire.

10. On the whole, I cannot gain an understanding what is the need to immortalize artists, writers, poets, political figures and other grains in the world history.
Wise and exalted will be the sculptor, who will make my monument as a symbol of this generation. A monument with a caption – “a common folk.”

Meet the Team - 1

Athina Holmes. 10 Facts About Me:

1. I'm a professionally trained gourmet chef.

2. I run 5K's and 10K's on a regular basis and just ran my 1st half marathon in Miami.

3. I have a wonderful Mom, kind sister, fine brother (I'm the middle child) and beautiful nieces and nephews.

4. I'm generally a healthy eater but when I splurge, it's usually on marshmellow treats I love those. I eat them right out of the pot...warm!

5. I'm terrified of CATS! meow...ugh!

6. My quiet time is spent planting flowers and herbs in my little backyard bungalow. I love getting my hands in the earth. It's so healing to me, I call it my "OM" time.

7. During career day in my community, I devote my time to speaking to kids about the broad opportunities in the aviation field as pilots. I especially try to encourage girls to pursue aviation careers and to get them interested in piloting.

8. My main gig is travelling around the world as a flight attendant for a major airline.

9. My favorite country to visit is Italy. I love the beauty and history of Italy and of course the great Italian cuisine.

10. I dislike that I don't speak a language but I just bought the Rosetta Stone Italian language beginners CD. I just have to find the time to sit down and learn it...someday soon. I hope!

Aerodynamics is for those who cannot manufacture good engines

A beginning

"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."
The date is set – we are all finally meeting face-to-face May 15-16. By the way, 15+16=31!! The magic number.
Athina is going to fly over to MSP and then we will go to Hutchinson for some planning, flying, and connecting.))))