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 […]
Sport Air Racing League
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 […]
Racers fly for Hurricane Harvey victims
Hurricane Harvey impacted the Texas coast and the city of Houston in unimaginable ways. The devastation was monumental and the coming together of people from all across the U.S. to lend aid was something even the movies could not have scripted. The 2017 Galveston Island 150 Air Race was scheduled to run Sept. 9, 2017. […]
A dangerous flight
Dispatch from KSAF, Santa Fe, New Mexico: By dawn’s early light I can see the silver fins of the stroker engine through the air intakes in the nose bowl, the front cylinders a pair of griffins in twin caves, ready to leap from their lairs and devour slower prey. The new engine is ready to […]
Fly-In, air race and open house Aug. 5 at KTYQ
ZIONSVILLE, Indiana — Montgomery Aviation, the FBO at Indianapolis Executive Airport (KTYQ), will host the 11th Annual Open House, Fly-In, and Air Race on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Montgomery Aviation is partnering with the Sport Air Racing League to present the Indy Air Race. This is the seventh year that […]
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 […]
Top of the Leader Board
Dispatch from KTRL, Terrell, Texas: I want to win. There. I said it. Yes, I know we’re here for charity. And, yes, I know this is supposed to be just for fun. But, damn it, I really, really want to win. I know that sounds shallow and selfish, but in my defense, I spent the entire […]
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 […]
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 […]