The sun has just risen over the rim of the desert. The moon hangs over the dry, treeless mountains. It’s chilly. I hunker down in my windbreaker. It’s deathly quiet, except for the occasional far away rumble of an aircraft engine, wafting over the desert like distant thunder. The soil is chalky white, populated only […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: The best worst time ever
Dispatch from P14, Holbrook, Arizona: Looking down off my wing, I can see the ramp is nearly empty. Most of the race planes have already left. Gone home. I know I’m slow, but geez, couldn’t the other racers have at least waited until the last plane landed before they called it a day? I key the […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: Expect the Unexpected
Dispatch from KTYQ, Indianapolis, Indiana: Holy crap my airspeed is good. I’m pushing the yellow arc. In level flight. The two latest speed mods are paying off in spades. I’m 600 feet up, low enough that the lush, vibrant greens of the Indiana countryside seem to be flashing by beneath my wings. High above, and to […]
Air Racing from the Cockpit: Family Jewels
Dispatch from KMHE, Mitchell, South Dakota: An airplane. High above me and slightly to the left. I nudge my 14-year-old son, Rio, with my elbow and point up through the canopy. His dark brown eyes, hawk-like when he’s flying, narrow as he studies the silhouette. “It’s white,” his voice crackles through my headset. “It’s not him.” […]
Air Racing From The Cockpit: A long flight to a short race (Part 2)
See Part 1 here. Dispatch from KEPH, Ephrata, Washington: I smell burning French toast. Yeah. There’s a hint of cinnamon mixed into the strong, pungent odor that’s filling the cockpit. This can’t be good. I scan my limited engine instruments. Nothing is out of the ordinary. My oil pressure is normal. My oil temp is good. […]
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: The champs and the challenger
Dispatch from KMDH, Carbondale/Murphysboro, Illinois: Standing on my wing, I look down the long double row of airplanes. Like an old-style barn dance, the two lines of planes face each other, spinner to spinner, across a wide taxiway. We’re arranged from fastest to slowest; the fastest planes on the east, the slowest planes on the west. […]
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 […]
Air Racing From the Cockpit: An ethical dilemma
Dispatch from KIYA, Abbeville, Louisiana: As I turn off the taxiway for the hold-short line, I glance back over my left shoulder to watch the parade of Aeronca 7 Champions move forward. Each a different shade of yellow and red, with their stubby noses high in the air, their tails low, they look like a pack […]