The 'Hearts' in the news

Well the race is in the books now. The ladies attended the melt-down party and got a chance to spend some quality time with their baby birds. The crew took in the sights of 'Diana's bath' - a scenic hiking spot in picturesque Maine.

During the public event where the teams and planes were available for photos and questions about the race, Teresa and Denise were interviewed with the local paper about their air race experiences. The link to the article is:  Sun Journal Article

Also of course, AOPA was in attendance and got a couple of fun snaps of the ladies and some memorable quotes for their informative article: AOPA article

The team headed back to Hartford on June 25th to their home field 'HFD', Brainard airport. The plane performed fabulously and Teresa and Denise had a great time.  This years bevy of collegiate racers and now graduated baby birds met up at Denise's Avon mountaintop home for one last mass over-nighter before heading back to Tennessee and California.  The Purple Hearts and the girls were thrilled to see a live BLACK BEAR in Denise's back yard. The college teams both pre-flighted and were briefed on navigating the Hudson corridor so they could circle the Statue of Liberty before heading home. Ms. Teresa finally had to say goodbye and ended up flying commercial back to Oklahoma on 6/26/18 to celebrate her 36th wedding anniversary.

Next year at this time, Teresa and Denise are planning to get their African pilot's licenses and flying a Cessna 182 through several African countries for a new experience and tour. The loyal Archer sadly will stay home for that trip but the Purple Hearts WILL race again soon.  The adventures never end as long as they always remain in your 'HEARTS'! - ed

The Hearts and their baby birds at Diana's Bath, Maine

Fryeburg landing with beautiful 99's compass rose (photo: L. Strand)

Scoring and NO penalties

Since the Purple Hearts did NOT officially handicap before the race, they have been flying the course as a non-competition exhibition team (no prize money). Given the confusing and weather restricted race losing 6 legs, this probably was one of the best years to race 'just for fun'.

However, the 3 legs that did officially register were subject to the normal rules and the Hearts did a fantastic job of catching the wind and using it to their advantage. We did a post a few years ago with a handicap run of 147 miles per hour. That is probably pretty standard top speed for a Piper Archer II. After the race in 2016 however, the team had re-handicap in Florida since they rode the whole way with an extra rudder inside the plane. After the plane had logged about 3500 miles cleaning out the engine and tuning it to precision, the plane handicapped at around 150 miles per hour.

So you will note that the plane performed well on the first two legs coming in over 154 miles per hour and the last leg at 146. On average a very respectable score and we will see how it compares to the winners of the race to determine if the Hearts would have been in the 'hunt' for prize money if they had been racing competitively. Regardless the ladies had an experience of their lifetimes and are thrilled to have run a clean race with no penalties and everyone and everything brought home in a healthy condition! - ed

Only 3 legs were officially scored, NO penalties for the Hearts

Cruising by timing tent at Fryeburg   (Photo: Cynthia Lee)

Greeted in Fryeburg by friends! (Photo: Laurie Strand)

Touchdown FRYEBURG, MAINE 12:47H EST

The ladies DID IT! Captain Denise did a perfect fly-by and landed at 12:47H EST in Fryeburg, Maine. The last leg was uneventful as the team was happy to leave the inclement weather behind. As an aside just after the team left Penn Yan - pop up storms once again started to form.  More news and pictures to follow from the terminus as they come in. CONGRATULATIIONS TEAM #23 - The Purple Hearts. Your friends, fans, and family are very proud to welcome you back to New England.

-ed

The last leg of the race nearing touchdown - FlightAware

Final leg speed and altitude profile - FlightAware

Our two favorite pilots - Welcome home PURPLE HEARTS!

Fryeburg Fly-by (Photo: Cynthia Lee)

A typical Denise understated greeting toward friends (photo: Strand)

Fryeburg bound 12:40H ETA

Well the ladies are low enough to report in even with a picture from the cockpit of the Purple Archer. The plane is running cool and strong at the top of the RPM arc. They are humming along and have only used 1 quart of oil during the whole race so the engine has performed marvelously.

The team uses mylar shields and cling screen panels on the glass to shield the sun from the instruments and pilots especially early and late  in the day when the rays beat down closer to the horizon. This trip started out toasty warm in Texas and Oklahoma and then turned cool and wet in the last half of the race so all in all it has been a mixed bag weather-wise to say the least. -ed

The ladies Fryeburg bound about an hour out  11:45H Eastern

#23 the Purple Hearts on course to Fryeburg, Maine

Leaving Penn Yan - NOW! 10:14 Eastern

Yes the Purple Hearts are rested and ready to finish the race. It was a relaxing night and a chance to spend time with many teams and reflect on the race. More news to come but if you have the live feed of the airport you can hear the radio calls now and the arrival in Fryeburg in about 2 - 3 hours.

The actual fly-by departure time was 10:27H Eastern. To start the timing run, the Purple Hearts fly away from the airport and then they drop down across a crew of timers who are stationed along the  designated runway. The timers look for the proper height, wings level, and start the clock once the plane crosses the line. When the Purple Hearts arrive in Fryeburg, Maine, they will cross the final line to stop the clock. The difference between the two numbers will determine the speed that the plane achieved. -ed

A typical fly-by to start the timing run

Purple Hearts safe arrival in Penn Yan, New York

The crew touched down safely in VFR conditions in Penn Yan, NY shortly before 20:00H Eastern. We'll add some pictures as they come in but needless to say, the ladies are ready to relax and get some chow. Many of the teams have put down in New York and plan to finish the race on Friday. Should be loads of interesting stories and close-calls to share across the dinner table tonight with fellow racing teams. Updates to follow.

- ed

Inside the storm

As a general rule, even experienced pilots try to avoid most convective storms because they by definition are dangerous and unpredictable. Even when you think you have the clouds beat, they will start to build in your path and create severe turbulence, rain, hail, lightning - you name it.

In the case of the air race, NOBODY wants to have to pick their way across the country with only bad and worse as the option choices for each leg. Unfortunately - that was this kind of race. Today's race legs were challenging and yes at times - scary. Storms have a way of making pilots humble and all the noise and bumping around tends to break concentration.

Today the legs were into demanding Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). Denise and Teresa worked together continuously with air traffic control to try and vector around building cells in their path. The truth is there is no easy way out so they simply have to push forward and put the plane and crew through the punishment. The plane would drop a hundred feet and then rise 200 feet back. The rain is so relentless and non-stop it is akin to standing under a waterfall or being in a car wash with water forcing its way into the cabin through the door seals.

Though the plane, as always, took care of the crew and did its job, it did suffer some leading edge paint loss. The constant hammering rain acts with sand-blasting force and slowly peels back any paint defects along rivets and exposed edges. Literally at the end of the day, none of that mattered though. The ladies made it safe and sound and had conquered demanding weather to get to the other side. The Michigan and Ohio stops were canceled by the race committee as well so Ms. Denise and Teresa will fly the purple beast into Fryeburg, ME tomorrow morning with genuine pride for a job well done.

Leading edges getting pounded and worn in storm

Cowling paint got sand-blasted off in relentless rain

After the storm safe in Penn Yan - not far to go to Fryeburg, ME tomorrow

The Hearts beat the weather front - now what?

The Purple Hearts successfully navigated the nasty weather through Ohio and popped out on the other side of the gigantic front. Clearly the balance of the race will start in Penn Yan, New York. As an interesting aside, The Purple Hearts' motor was overhauled in the same city by the famous motor builder Penn Yan Aero last year so this will be a homecoming of sorts for the team.

Ms. Denise will be pilot in command for the final leg into Maine tomorrow. Though not the race that anyone expected, it has been certainly eventful for the teams. At this point, we are just thankful that all the teams are safe and appear to be headed finally to clearer skies and calmer winds.\

-ed

Hearts are flying high and pushing toward Penn Yan, NY  - VFR

Diverting IFR to Columbus, OH

Well it is not a surprise when people are wondering 'what happened to the race'? As noted previously, there IS a race still going on of sorts, but it was not the one originally planned. Most of the teams now are simply trying to beat the weather systems and get around or through them anyway they can so they can make Maine by 17:00H on Friday afternoon.

The Purple Hearts filed an IFR plan to head to Columbus, Ohio to try and skirt the complete weather system instead of continually fighting it all the way up to Michigan and then back down again. Just too much difficult flying for an exhibition race. Many of the other racers are heading directly to Penn Yan, New York with the same intention to get beyond the constant IFR build-up that has encompassed the top of the country. In the end, even the Hearts had to divert to their alternate IFR airport northeast of Columbus due to convective activity building. The illustrations below show the enormous front that was wreaking havoc on the racers.  The firsr picture below is a on-board Stratus scan of the weather. To impress upon the significance of that screen for non-pilots - it is supposed to be a light green sectional chart with circles for all the airports and communications frequencies over a wide area. As you can see it is basically a continuous wall cloud covering the entire airspace.

The short answer to what will happen with the race and how can the race committee can sort out all of the teams that are in the race, out of the race, or only completing a few legs is - ' I have NO idea'. I don't recall so much weather constantly impacting the race in over a decade since we have been following them so this is completely new territory for our team. We'll still keep posting until the ladies get home though so stay tuned. -ed

Entire sectional chart showing heavy weather

This  is the onboard scan of the weather on the way to Columbus

Denise fuels plane in Galion, OH with onlooking  crop duster

The Hearts pick their way through heavy weather

Galesburg, IL - Home of the Stearman Fly-in

After a deviation around a storm cell, the Hearts' Archer arrived safely in Galesburg with a pair of Cessna 172's all off of similar IFR flight plans from Nebraska. Most of the other teams are there at the hangar waiting for changes in weather yet again. A ruling from the race committee may once again eliminate Galesburg from the official stops. If so, the teams will file IFR flight plans and relocate the planes until they can get in front of the building and annoying weather.

In obvious ways, this is NOT how the race is supposed to go. For the most part, the race has never faced such persistent weather dogging the planned stops along the way. However, in a more stealthy way, the challenges over the last couple of days are EXACTLY what the race is designed to test. It is one thing to simply burn the least amount of fuel and achieve the fastest speed to 'win' the race. Yet, this week has proven that most of the 'winning' is received when the ladies tackle problems, stress, skills, and situations which test their inner mettle and make the team stronger in the end.

The Hearts want to launch if possible today. Look for an update after Noon central. If a VFR window opens up, the racers will get out quickly. If it doesn't we may be in for some more long waits to hear what the next steps will be. Regardless, we all wish the Purple Hearts a continued safe journey and send maybe just an extra smidge of GOOD LUCK!

Purple Hearts satellite location in Galesburg, IL

Waiting in Galesburg - Home of the annual STEARMAN Fly-in

IFR relocation of plane to Galesburg, IL

The crew filed an IFR flight plan to fly direct from Beatrice, NE to Galesburg, IL early this morning. The Hearts should arrive around 09:00H central time, refuel and likely prepare to leave very quickly to restart the race with the other teams.

This IFR re-location of the plane is allowed since the Minnesota stop has been eliminated so all planes remaining in the race will resume the stops  from Galesburg on with the normal VFR rules
of the race. Again the ladies will only use IFR to get out of a safety problem, however if needed from this point forward the team will be disqualified for the rest of the race.

-ed

Dotted line is  IFR flight plan filed with FAA

The Hearts & 2 other ARC planes flying IFR - a RARE sight

Here is the  IFR speed and altitude data via Flightaware

IFR CURRENCY

Obviously this race has been challenged by weather which is not all that unusual. What is unusual is that the weather won't go away. Typically Teresa enters the race with Instrument flying currency however this year due to the move to a new state, finding an instructor to take on her own plane was not successful.

So since the weather had a hole in it and the Hearts baby birds are Certified Flight Instructors, Teresa took the time to stay back in Nebraska with the Purple Archer and go ahead and re-up her IFR currency. It is the prudent thing to do especially since tomorrow's race will still have some weather challenges. The intention is NOT to fly IFR at all, however if it becomes a safety issue, the ladies will go ahead and use the option to avoid problems.

So the Hearts are in a familiar place, carrying up the trailing end of the field for one reason or another. Tomorrow morning the team plans on re-joining the others in Illinois however they will be one of the last teams to leave from that port as well since they will be one of the last to arrive.

Teresa and Denise extend a special THANK YOU to the baby birds for doing Teresa's Instrument Proficiency Check (IPR) and making sure Teresa was ready for the weather challenges ahead. It is this type of cooperation and 'sisterhood' which continues to define the Air Race Classic over its storied history.

-ed

Teresa became IFR current in Beatrice ... just in case

Minnesota gets the axe

The official word came from the race committee that the Minnesota stop is eliminated from the race. Due to continued IFR conditions in the area, it is just not possible to move all those planes North and then wait for the weather to clear to get them back heading to the East.

So all of the race planes are in the process of re-locating to the 4th stop point so the race can essentially begin anew from Galesburg, Illinois. That is great in theory but continued weather briefings all day have NOT RECOMMENDED flying into that airport so at least a dozen planes are still on hold in Nebraska including the Purple Hearts and their baby birds from Purdue and their now graduated team from Ohio State.

Gale force winds and downpours were so strong last night that the rain seeped through the door seal of the Archer and soaked the seats of the plane. All in all it is just a mess as far as weather. At some point, if the race route seems impossible to navigate through, the Hearts will fly further South into
the Midwest and then turn for Maine to join up with the remaining teams for the wrap-up celebration. Even if they can't complete the scheduled route, the journey and challenges along the way are what truly make the RACE!  More to follow.

-ed

Despite axing Minnesota, this still blocks racers between Nebraska and Illinois 

A weather hiccup for the race

As noted yesterday the ladies are in kind of a waiting game right now because the weather over Nebraska is overcast and mostly IFR conditions. That would not be a problem if there was a reasonable expectation of a window of opportunity to get the planes out of Beatrice, but after about 20 hours of waiting it looks like that window is shrinking.

Yesterday at least 5 planes tried to make it to Minnesota against a building wall cloud to the West and all but one landed at off-field locations effectively ending their race. The one that landed at the official timing airport had to file an IFR flight plan to get down thereby ending their race as well. So 90% of the race teams are stuck in Nebraska with nowhere to go to avoid weather.

The plan that appears to be in process is that the racers will split up into IFR pilots so that ALL the planes can move safely together 'somewhere' along the race route to clear weather. Needless to say this is highly irregular and only once in about a decade has the race committee had to pass-over an official stop for weather. The reality is that the clouds are expected to stay several days so if the racers don't move somewhere East soon, it will be impossible to make it to Maine by Friday anyway.

Once we get clarity where the planes are flying to, we will update the blog. Should see some movement soon on the MapProgress tracking link at www.airraceclassic.org so stay tuned.

-ed

90% of the race teams are stuck under this Nebraska cloud

Down for night in Beatrice, Nebraska

Once the ladies took off out of Oklahoma, the winds seemed calmer on the ground but the turbulence increased as the teams pushed Northeast. Even the fastest teams which had surfed the southerly winds earlier in the day were all holed up in the same place - Beatrice, Nebraska (KBIE).

Now nothing wrong with the second leg of the race being uneventful and completed - it is just that there is a heavy weather front that is blocking VFR travel up to Minnesota. The real worry is other than a short window in the morning, the front may continue to build and put a big roadblock for many of the racers tomorrow.

While that is the risk of this type of racing, it can be frustrating to have everything working and you are ready to go - but you CAN'T. The team will hold overnight with the others and try to get out as early as they can to beat the clouds.

Meanwhile the plane seems to be running perfectly. The mystery with the fuel burn is basically each stop is under-fueling or over-fueling the tanks which is throwing off the calculations. Sometimes the team will load the plane with LESS fuel to reduce the weight and thus fly faster, if they know they have enough reserves and possibly a tailwind to help them along. The ladies are safe and the plane is happy - all in all a PERFECT way to start a race.

-ed

This is the problem enveloping Beatrice, NE

Local news films Purple Hearts re-fueling - Alva, OK

Team held up in Beatrix, NE  - hopefully a VFR window tomorrow

On to the next leg

The ladies took off to start the clock again for the next leg north. The weather is hot and the racers want to take advantage of as many legs as they can endure today since the weather may turn 'iffy' tomorrow. They had a banana and the kindness of the local race committee provided Teresa and Denise with a T-shirt and an Alva challenge coin to commemorate their visit. The plane fueled fast and the burn was a bit higher than expected so they will confirm the tanks and fuel leaning to see if the number changes. In racing mode, the Archer uses about 12 gallons per hour but this leg they felt they were well north of 15 gallons an hour.

We reset the map progress transponder but it does not seem to be  tracking again so it probably won't be helpful in watching the race. Our former baby birds from Ohio State are having the same problem so their aircraft still appears at the start yet they happily enjoyed a rest break in Alva and are preparing to take off soon. The Purdue girls made a quick turnaround but were happy and doing
well. More pictures later once I return to home-base in Oklahoma City.

First sign of weather in Archer's path over Kansas

Ladies just passed the timing line in Alva, OK

Well the first leg is now history. The team was 5 miles out at 10:38H and now are coming around to land and check out the Alva hospitality. A large grandstand is here with many spectators. A news crew and helicopter are filming most of the planes as they pass in front of the crowd. - ed

A Parade in front of Grandstands - Alva, OK

Intrepid Pilots no worse for the wear in ALVA, OK

Purple Hearts closing in on Alva

Due to the exceptionally favorable Southern winds, I feel a tad sorry for the Alva welcoming committee since the first two aircraft (both fast Mooneys) flew by to continue on to the next stop before refueling.

Competitive racing requires that you take advantage of the winds when you can because if you don't your competitors will and who knows what direction the wind will be favoring tomorrow. The goal is to get your aircraft at the highest average miles per hour against your own handicap value previously established before the race. This makes it possible for all types and styles of aircraft to race in the same airspace since essentially they are racing against their OWN best time.

In any case, the satellite transponder still has the 'Hearts' in Texas but as evidenced by the
FlightAware snap, the plane is closing in on Alva. Since the team is racing as an exhibition
ship, the team is not as concerned with perfecting their average speed over the race. This is
wonderful for the spectators and local airport since The 'Purple Hearts' are sure to stop in Alva to say 'Hello' even if the winds beckon to continue flying.

-Ed

As of 10:17H 

As of 10:07H - Purple Hearts

Live Tracking appears to not be working for 'Hearts'

Never fear fair followers - The Purple Hearts ARE AIRBORNE. Not sure what is going on with the Map Progress link on the Air Race Classic website, but wanted to re-assure that the team is flying fine and we will look into the race satellite transponder when on the ground.

For now, I will try to add frequent posts utilizing the Archer's own on-board satellite Spot system so you can generally know where the aircraft is in its journey. The snap was at approximately 09:15 H central time. The team is reporting no problems.

-ed

As of 09:35 - The Hearts are nearing Oklahoma border

Hearts are OK and on course as of 09:15 central

Early Race Day Prep

Well the big day has arrived. The ladies checked out of the hotel and headed to the airport to make their last minute checks of the Purple beast before launch. The first plane off was just a tad before 08:30 and FlightAware picked up the ladies at 8:47 leaving Sweetwater, TX.

I arrived ahead in Alva, OK at the airport (on the site of a former WWII German POW camp) to greet the teams if they intend to stop. Most teams are expected to stop at the first leg to assess fuel requirements however with a strong prevailing Southern wind this morning, it is possible that the some of the faster and bigger tanked aircraft may fly-by to continue to take advantage of Mother Nature's extra push from the rear.


Excitement is all around. The windsock is nearly at full extension but it is right down the runway so should pose no unusual threats to the pilots. Nostalgic 1940's dance tunes play over the outdoor loudspeaker between tower calls. It is a beautiful day for an air race. Looking forward to grabbing a few pics of the team and their baby birds as they pass by during the morning.

-ed

Beautiful Archer Race Day  Morning

Denise  - waiting for fuel, Sweetwater, TX

Denise prepares the Archer for its 2400 mile journey

Check out the speed that the ladies are getting out of the 'beast'

The Wishing Well tradition

In 1942 Jacqueline Cochran became the Director of the Women Air Force Service Pilots, known popularly as the WASP's. One of the traditions of the young women training to fly military aircraft was to throw a coin in the 'Wishing Well' for good luck. Later once the ladies would solo, they would good-naturedy get tossed into the 20 foot fountain by their training mates to celebrate their success.

Well to carry that tradition on,  Teresa found a penny which she threw into the dry fountain for 'good luck' of course. So much history to absorb. It is important to remember the achievements of the incredible women pilots who walked these same grounds over 75 years ago. The Purple Hearts are honored and excited to now be a part of Avenger field and its rich and vibrant history.

t

The Wishing Well - T tossed in a coin for good luck

A few of the women pilots who walked before us at Avenger Field

The LAST supper

Teresa and Denise had the honor to enjoy the final Sweetwater  supper with a table full of  good eats and good friends. These are the new baby birds from Purdue along with the team's former mentees turned full-fledged competitive racers in 2018. It truly is one of the unusual side-benefits of racing in the Air Race Classic that you become so close with some fantastic young women of the next generation. The team will get some good rest tonight and then tomorrow is literally 'Off to the races'. - ed

The  last supper with our racer family

Countdown to Race day - T-15 hours

Despite the heavy downpour of rain around Sweetwater today, spirits regarding the race have not dampened a bit. Excitement is mounting as the teams underwent their mandatory safety and rule meetings today. Teams are advised to the penalties and procedures for executing low fly-bys, fueling, timing lines, and all aspects to ensure a safe race.

Weather is always a factor but it appears a front is forming South and will start heading over the teams during the early stages of the race which could be challenging. Each team will have to gauge how to use the wind and at what time of day to fly to get the fastest speed with the least fuel, and continuing safety. The teams will traverse the country to Maine over the next 4 days and they can only fly with Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and in daylight hours, but they can choose when and where to stop at any time, usually based on the capabilities of the aircraft and endurance of the team.

So cross your fingers and get your computer ready. Be sure to check the www.airraceclassic.org website tomorrow to see LIVE tracking of the planes as they launch and proceed through the race. The planes are all equipped with satellite SPOT trackers and Bad Elf flight data recorders to relay where the teams are in flight at any given moment and where they land overnight. -ed

Mock Margaritas for a social event the night before the race

Teresa  and Denise with some of their friends at Sunset on Avenger field

ARC banquet and WASPs in Sweetwater

The ladies enjoyed a banquet in the evening with their fellow racers. The location of the race in Sweetwater, TX was chosen since that was the service post for the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) in World War II. So the 'male' pilots could go off to fly missions overseas, the often unheralded mission of the WASPs was to fly any and every kind of war aircraft to wherever and whenever they were needed. An often un-glamorous and thankless task, these tough amazing women loved to fly and thus their legend was born and lives on in the spirit of this year's race. -ed

The kick-off informal banquet

The Kick-off cake 42nd Race 2018

WASPs in Sweetwater, Texas