Dispatch from KSAF, Santa Fe, N.M.: My chief mechanic and I are standing in his hangar, glumly staring at Race 53. Her engine is missing. Forward of the firewall, black fuel lines, orange air hoses, and white sensor wires dangle in mid air. Her new exhaust stack angles downward at a crazy angle. Her tails […]
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Air Racing from the Cockpit: The final chapter
This is the second part of a two-part series. Read the first story here. Dispatch from an oil-soaked tarmac at KSAF, Santa Fe, New Mexico: My chief mechanic, sitting in Race 53’s cockpit, slowly inches the throttle forward. The dull thrum of the engine changes in tempo, becoming an angry snarl. Then the snarl shifts into […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: Downtime
Dispatch from my living room couch: I impatiently email my mechanic: “Is the engine back on the airplane yet or is it still on the crane?” The reply doesn’t come until the next day: “It is still on the crane as we mount sensors and things on the firewall.” Clearly, I won’t be flying — much […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: Disputing the results
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 from the Cockpit: Sportsmanship
Dispatch from KGYI, North Texas Regional Airport: Am I still gaining on them? The Cessna 152 is 200 feet above me, about half a mile ahead, and slightly off to the left. I’m low over the lake, climbing slowly, a pillowy soft grey overcast above. My ground speed, frankly, sucks. I’m bucking a 22-knot headwind on the […]
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: Looking back on the season
Dispatch from my kitchen table: It’s a bright clear day. I could be flying. But I’m tired. It’s been a long season. Instead, I’m sipping French roast coffee with my feet propped up on a chair, staring out my back door at the distant mesas. My flight journal lies open in my lap and I’m treating […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: A new national champion
Dispatch from T74, Taylor, Texas: I’m sitting in the cockpit, not ready to get out. The engine makes little pinging sounds as it cools. The canopy is open and the lightest of breezes ruffles my hair. Off to my right a growing line of planes is queuing up to refuel before the awards ceremony. I hear […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: Back in the saddle again
Dispatch from KGMJ, Grove, Oklahoma: I click the mic button with my thumb and I roll the yoke to the left. One smooth motion. The horizon cartwheels right. I call “Race Five-Three, Turn One.” Suddenly a gorilla is sitting on the nose. I pull the heavy yoke back as the turn steepens and I lose lift. […]
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: Omens
Dispatch from my kitchen table: The sun is well above the horizon. Outside it’s the most beautiful day you’ve ever seen. Cool. Not a cloud in the sky. Not a breath of wind. My bags are packed and I’m ready to go. But I’m not flying anywhere today. My plane sits at KSXU in her […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: A chain of bad decisions
Dispatch from 1V0, Navajo Lake State Park, New Mexico: The wind howls through Race 53’s twin tails. A high-pitched whine. Ghosts shrieking. Her wings rock back and forth, straining against the tie-down straps. The sky above is an evil dark grey-green. Fast-moving ash-grey clouds scuttle across the horizon. The rain comes in waves, never stopping. Sometimes […]