I'm a Loser....

***Note - I heard this song a week before the race and couldn't get it out my head. No one who flies the Air Race Classic is EVER a loser but I thought this would be some nice comic relief after the awards banquet!!!!!


I'm a loser….
I'm a loser and I lost the Air Race Classic…
And I'm not what I appear to be

Of all the races I have won or have lost
There is one race I should never have crossed
It is the Air Race Classic, my friend
I should have known she would win in the end

I'm a loser
And I lost the race to someone who is faster than me
I'm a loser
And I'm not what I appear to be

Although I laugh and I act like a clown
Beneath this headset  I am wearing a frown
My tears are falling like rain from the sky just like Sault St. Marie
Is it for the race or myself that I cry

I'm a loser
And I lost the race to someone who is faster than me
I'm a loser
And I'm not what I appear to be

What have I done to deserve such a fate
I realize I have left the start way too late
And so it's true, pride comes before a fall
I'm telling you so that you won't lose all

I'm a loser
And I lost the Air Race Classic to someone who is faster than me
I'm a loser
And I'm not what I appear to be

And the Winner Is.....

Not us but we did good.  We placed 22nd out of 47 teams.  We won one leg prize (3rd leg) and that was from Hereford, TX to Goodland, KS.   We were the fastest team for that leg which is an accomplishment in itself.  Our handicap was 129.18 and on this leg we flew 36.627 knots faster than the handicap.   Wow.....

Our fellow Eastern PA 99s also did a fabulous job!!!!  Team #5, Alison and Linda placed 15th while Team #15, Mary and Elaine placed 18th.  

Our baby birds placed 17th and they won the 2nd place leg prize from Hereford, TX to Goodland, KS.  It was nice to beat a Cirrus SR22 on at least on leg.  Sorry Tracy & Sandi!!! It was great that we came in 1st and 2nd on that leg!!!! 

Look for my wrap up by the end of the week plus some more pictures. 

Thanks to all of you who followed us!!!!

Barb & Ethel

The Final Day....

Today is our last day in Batavia.  We will try to leave OH by 9am tomorrow morning.  We only have a 3-1/2hr flight from OH to PA.   Today we have two more requirements.  This morning we have a mandatory meeting for all racers @ 8am.  Then tonight we will have our mandatory banquet where we find out what place we landed in.   We heard the top 10-15 racers were asked to go through airplane inspection again.  This is done to make sure that no modifications have been done during the route.  Unfortunately it is looking like all three Eastern PA teams will not be in the top 15.

No worries....it isn't about winning it is about the adventure.  This year the three PA teams stayed in the same places during the race and we had an absolute blast.  It was good to have our friends close and it sure helped with comic release.   

I still can't believe we left June 11th and now it is already June 24th. 

Barb's...ooops...Sporty's Birthday Bash

Sporty's open their hanger to the Air Race Classic and had a fabulous dinner and firework display for us.  It was a very nice event where we caught up with our fellow racers and also got to meet the founder of Sporty's Pilot Shop....Hal Shevers. 

Here is a picture of Team 51. 

Zia is on the left and Emily is on the right.  They are both from CO and they had the best matching outfits!!!!

Here is a picture of our baby birds Tracy & Sandi.  We are standing by Tracy's plane.   I can't tell you how proud we are of them.  They were the fastest plane in this year's race and as I have told many people the faster you go the less time you have to correct for any problems.  They did a great job and we have more friends to visit across the country!!!!  Team 41 ROCKS!!!!

Here is a picture of Hal Shevers and his wife.   

This is a picture of Alison, Linda and their baby birds. 

 

More Photos....

I had some time this afternoon to post some pictures that I thought you might like. 

We left Goodland, KS right after sunrise.  The airport was FABULOUS and provided transportation for us from the hotels.   Team 56 really lucked out and this was their ride. 

This was sunrise on Thursday at Goodland, KS. 

So sometimes we need to allow our friends to pass us.  Here is Mary Wunder passing below us from Goodland, KS to David City, NE.  

These are the fields of NE.....

Clarkson, NE.....

The Missouri River....

This is a grain elevator in NE.  In KS they were harvesting the winter wheat crop. 

The famous Spot!!!!  The orange thing in the bottom right is the GPS Spot tracking device.  I took this picture not knowing the spot was in the frame. 

Watertown, SD to Ashland, WI.....

Ski Slope.....

Ashland, WI to Sault St. Marie.....

The Soo Locks @ Sault St. Marie.....

The locks at night.....

After Sault St. Marie we flew over Mackinac Island. 

These are pictures of our trip from Sault St. Marie to Benton Harbor....

And then this was the weather between Sault St. Marie and Benton Harbor......

We went around this cell and it cost us some time.   :o( 

Batavia, Ohio

Sorry for not posting yesterday when we got into Batavia.  Things were a little crazy and we didn't get into Sporty's to almost 4pm (yes EST).   So we were socked in at Sault St. Marie until almost 11:30am and we did a fly by to continue at Benton Harbor (no fuel stop) and then on to Batavia.  There were 15 racers in the course of 2 days who had to put down at non-race airports because of weather.  They sat on the ground from 30 minutes to 1-1/2 hr.  That will make their score sheets not look pretty because their time didn't stop when they landed at these airports.  Thank goodness we were not one of those. 

We were assessed a penalty because our altitude was off in Gallup and they attempted to give us a penalty for flying a timing line in David City from the wrong direction.  We explained that was impossible because there was another plane 9 seconds behind us and if we flew it the wrong way we would have been heading toward each other and that didn't happen.  So we needed to find the other team and asked them to go back to the judges with us and give confirmation that we didn't fly the timing line wrong. 

Our score is over our handicap which is excellent but it won't win the race.  The timer told us we had one of the best legs from Hereford, TX to Goodland, KS.   That was exciting!!!  I will post pictures when I can but it might not be until tomorrow.  We have a busy day today.  We are meeting our friend Charrisa (Sporty's Flight Instructor) for lunch and then we have a Birthday Bash at the airport this evening.  There will also be fireworks.  How cool is that?  No...the birthday bash isn't for me but for Sporty's but why not jump on board and celebrate at the same time!!! 

I will be saying this many times in the next couple of days but thanks to all of you who have been watching and supporting our adventure across this incredible country. 

Aahhhhhhhhhh.....

We are in Sault St Marie waiting for the ceilings to lift and the airport to become VFR. We figure we have until noon to get out of here and try to make the mad dash for the timing line in Batavia, Ohio. Wish us luck.