Dispatch from KDMH, Carbondale, Illinois: The carefully arranged chairs in the giant hangar are in disarray, hurriedly pushed and pulled to either side, parted like the Red Sea to make room to bring Les Burrill’s wounded bird— Race 11 — in out of the baking sun. A small cluster of racers gathers around the green and […]
air racing
Air racing: An unexpected open house
Dispatch from KABI, Abilene, Texas: I’m perched on the left wingwalk, leaning into the open cockpit. My shirttails keep coming untucked, and I’m praying that the waistline of my pants is high enough that I won’t be mistaken for a plumber, instead of an air racer. I point to the instrument panel, “This one tells me […]
Triathlon
Dispatch from KSPA, Spartanburg, South Carolina: I pull the wicked-looking black helmet over my head and cinch the chinstrap down tight. Next comes the neck guard, a thick foam collar that encircles my neck below the helmet. I step down into the cockpit and settle in, pulling the dual shoulder straps across my chest and snapping […]
Lots of sun, lots more fun
We’re lined up two abreast on Lakeland-Linder Regional Airport’s big Runway 27, slightly staggered like fighters on an aircraft carrier’s deck. Ahead of us a flight of two massive T-28 Trojans in Navy colors thunder down the runway. The T-28s lift into pale morning sky and the tower radios that it’s our turn to takeoff. […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: Get ready to rumble
Dispatch from SXU, the Santa Rosa Route 66 Airport, Santa Rosa, New Mexico: A 6-foot-long white shelf in my hangar displays last season’s trophies. Wood, brass, shining gold, marble and crystal. Each one unique and different, just like the air races where I won them. Sure, it’s a bragging wall, but it’s more than that. It’s […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: An ill-timed breakdown
Dispatch from KCVN, Clovis, New Mexico: It’s chilly. It’s nearly noon and I’m wearing my winter flight jacket. As we walk across the tarmac to Race 53, above our heads the sky is solid overcast. It’s pale gray. Low, kissing the edge of marginal VFR, but slowly rising. Not even 100 miles from home yet, […]
Air Racing From The Cockpit: A long flight to a short race
DAY ONE: Dispatch from north of Monument Valley: 7,200 feet MSL, speed 55 mph… It’s too hot. My plan is shot to hell. Race 53 is hanging on her prop and she can’t climb any higher. Damn! It’s all I can do to stay in the air above the rugged desert. Below, in hues of red, pink, […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: A hard day’s work
Dispatch from KTRL, Terrell, Texas: I pull my mixture control knob all the way back, turn the key three clicks to the left to shut off the mags, and reach up to flip the master switch down. Race 53’s engine doesn’t like to stop running, but finally sputters, coughs, stops. The spinning prop makes one last […]
Beyond the Powder documentary on DVD Oct. 1
The PBS documentary film “Beyond the Powder” will be released on DVD and BluRay Oct. 1. The one-hour film documents the 1929 Women’s Air Derby, and the women who continue to fly the cross-country race today as the Air Race Classic. The film highlights the societal and aviation challenges women faced in 1929, exploring the history of the […]