Snow Eagles Air Racing Team to race in 2011 Air Race Classic

sad to say

2011-03-27T10:24:00.001-07:00

Unless a partner shows up in the next two weeks, I will be taking this year off from racing. I am still going to fly though and try to work towards my instrument rating. I passed my FAA physical which was not fun at all, never had a doctor measure my tattoos to put in the record for tattoos and scars. Yes, I love tattoos, and I have fallen a lot so I do have scars, but to actually measure them took forever. Well I am going for the FAA Wings Basic to get through my BFR starting next month.

New Year-New Race

2011-01-17T10:11:00.001-08:00

Well this year I am planning on competiting in the Air Race Classic again. I may have found a potential partner, who turns out to be a professor at the college where I am receiving my Master's degree. I hope this works out, as she is into racing cars and running races. So now onto fundraising and getting that to go,so we have money to race on. A lot of things have happened this year,so I know I am going to need financial backing if I want to do this. I quit my job with the intentions of having another one,but the other backed out on me after I quit and I was told from someone else the company did the same thing to them. So now I am independantly contracting myself out for Zumba Fitness and just when I get close to the classes I need to survive, the gyms decide they want to cut back on classes or they become flakey. I also start my Doctoral classes in March, but the cool thing is I can do my homework while on the race, and before I leave for the race.
Well here's to trying to race again this year!!!!

more pics

2010-06-28T08:05:00.001-07:00

race results

2010-06-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

The results are in, and we placed 46th. It's an accomplishment to finish the race. This race was challenging to a lot of teams due to mechanical failures, pieces or mechanics not available at some of the stops. It was a great learning experience.

Yesterday was the mandatory debriefings. So after the meetings before the awards banquet we had some free time which we used as an escape to Washington D.C., as this was Sara and I first time going to the Capitol. Got to go to Lincoln Monument, in which I felt like Forrest Gump over looking the water. This trips was the first time I rode the metro also.

The award banquet was nice. It was held at a beautiful restaurant and the food was great. Then today, Sara and Suzanne made their way home in Suzanne's plane, and soon I will be on a bus going to New Mexico for a vacation, as racing is far from a vacation. Doing this race for the 3rd time, I feel like it's a summer camp where I get to see my camp friends. I am happy I got to see racers that I raced with my first year of racing.

Nicole

Day after finishing the race

2010-06-27T05:20:00.000-07:00

We had a girl scout event. We did some activities with several local girl scouts, such as a simulated landing, looking at airplanes, and some easy ground school. Then we had a movie premier to go to that was about the first woman's air race that featured one of the racers. Afterward, we were treated to a VIP reception at an art studio. It was alot of fun. Later on, Sara and I went to dinner at a restaurant with our new racer friends.

FINALLY MADE IT!!!

2010-06-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

We are pleased to announce that the 2010 Snow Eagles Race team completed the 2010 Air Race Classic. After I spent the time in the back seat of the plane today getting air sick, I was happy when we landed this morning in Frederick, MD. We landed and got all settled in at the nice Hilton Garden Inn, and had a nice meltdown party with all the other racers. It was fun,they had a dinner sponsored by Famous Dave's, a blues band, and people came to meet us. The race got alot of press, with the news coming to talk to the racers.

Nicole

even more pics

2010-06-24T19:23:00.001-07:00

more pics

2010-06-24T19:20:00.001-07:00

race day 3

2010-06-24T19:14:00.000-07:00

After sitting all day looking at weather charts, we decided to not go onto Frederick,and will make both legs tomorrow. So it's time to get caught up on the blog.

Last night, we hung out with several other Bonanza Beech team's. We had a tornado warning. Today, Sara and I caught a movie, saw Knight and Day, and ate at Texas Roadhouse for the first time. This trip was alot of first for the teams. Took Sara and Suzanne to Cheeseburgers in Paradise, where I had a yummy non-alcoholic strawberry daq.

2nd day of racing

2010-06-23T20:27:00.000-07:00

We flew our second day of racing. Stayed in Cameron, Missouri last night, flew to Carbondale, Illinois, and then our final stop today was Elkhart, Indiana were we are staying the night. Today seemed kind of weird because to me, it is hard to believe that we have only been racing two days,it seems like it has been a few days. We only have two legs left to the end of the race route.

So we landed today in Elkhart,and my camera got sucked out when I opened the door to let air in, while taxing and amazing enough it still works. I watched it drop and there was nothing I could do until we stopped and the Airport Manager was nice enough to drive me onto the taxiway to retrieve it. We ended up at a hotel with most of the racers, so alot of us went to Applebees. While in Applebees, the tornado warning went off on the TV.

Carbondale stop was neat. They had a band playing for us, as well as the cafateria being opened for us for free food and drinks. It was a nice relaxing stop. I am just happy to say all racers made it into a RON spot.

Nicole

first day of racing

2010-06-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

We took off about 838 am EDT. We flew by Waycross,and stopped at Tuscaloosa AL for fuel. We took off again and flew by Hot Springs AR, and made our final stop for the night in Cameron, Missouri. Everyone is exhausted as most of us got up at 445 AM EDT, which is 345 AM Central Daylight Time. Suzanne flew the plane,and Sara and I helped with spotting traffic, and navigation. Some places were harry with the traffic. The racers did a good job communicating where we were at,so now one crashed. All planes have made it safely to a RON spot. RON means Remain Over Night designation, and those are the 8 spots that we have to do a fly-by. All racers must be at a RON spot by the end of the Air Race Classic sunset time.
We made it to Cameron, and it was neat. The volunteers had sparkling juice,and home grown strawberried ready for us,when we exited the plane. The airplane cookies were as delicious.

Day 1

2010-06-22T20:38:00.000-07:00

Made it to Cameron, MO today. We flew through Waycross, GA, Tulcaloosa, Hot Springs then Cameron. They people in Cameron wereso nice--they brought strawberries and sparkling cider to the side of our plane right after we parked!

It was a SCORCHER! As soon as I walked out this morning, it was uggy and very hot!!! I was sweating immediately! However, it was fun! All 51 teams took off around 8am. It was cool tosee the line of planes. I sat front seat first, then Nikki switched. Suzanne was flying the plane; we were assisting with approaches/flybys, briefing, etc. It was intense! Our top speed for the day was 200kph! Its such a fast plane.

I am exhausted and going to bed, Nicole will beblogging later! BYE

Sara's First Blog

2010-06-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I have been getting up to speed over the last 2 days. Our trip starts in exactly 24 hours and I am excited! Today we had briefing and meetings; these were extremely helpful for me. Nikki and I will be assisting Suzanne during flybys, approaches, landings, airtraffic spotting, etc. Flybys are used to "stop" your time at each airport. There is a fairly specific procedure that you have to follow. This will be great practice and lots of fun to see played out. I am brand new to the "racing" style of flying!

Tomorrow, we are planning on stopping at Hot Springs, AK or Cameron,MO. The legs of our trip will be Waycross, GA, Tuscaloosa, AL, Hot Springs, AK, then Cameron, MO. We hope to get to Cameron in order to avoid some weather that could develop later in the week. Each leg is around 280ish miles. Suzanne's cruising speed(technically, our handicap speed) is 172.3kph; she owns a Beech Bonanza. This is waaaay faster than anything I have previously flown; I fly a Cessna150! Anyways, it should be a great trip tomorrow and I looking forward to it.

We will be keeping this updated throughout our journey! Please check back. I hope to have some good pictures from our flight tomorrow that I will post on here. -Sara

2010-06-20T19:26:00.001-07:00

here is some more pics

count down

2010-06-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

So this morning we had a mandatory all contestant briefing. We got the racer welcome banquet at night. During the first meeting Sarah came, and then her and I took to the beach before our banquet.

The welcome banquet was pretty neat. The Florida 99's made these cool airplane decorations.

The pics are of the beach, fly-by procedures, today's meetings. I got to meet the mayor yesterday.
Nicole

getting relaxed to get the game face on

2010-06-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

So yesterday, we had to fly our handicap. The handicap is what this race is based on. Each plane is handicap for the best performance speed, and if you fly over your handicap you are awarded points. If you fly under your handicap, you lose points, so a team can actually have negative points if they fly into a headwind. The first picture is of Suzanne flying the handicap flight. I was able to go along as we have a third member,for the weight. We also flew over the gulf, which is awesome because rivers and lakes are the only open water I have ever flown over. That is the second picture.

I feel it is important to feel relaxed before a big competition. Today was it. I had a blast, I totally forgot what it was like to be with such amazing woman, and how many new and old friends I have seen. We started off with going to the Sannabel Beach today, I found some awesome shells that I am sending back. Then we had our girl scout event, which was a bust we had two girls who came and they left within l5 minutes of starting the event. To hear everyone's amazing journey on how they started to fly, just amazes me. This is the biggest race, I have ever been in and one of the biggest race that ARC has put on. We have 113 women pilots and to think we are competitors but yet friends.

Tomorrow, we have an all-contestant meeting that is mandatory. Then I plan on hitting the beach for a bit, then we have a take-off banquet. Then we are off to a day of meetings on Monday, Sarah and Suzanne have an extra 2 hour meeting to be at, due to them being new racers. Tomorrow is also the day where the last team member Sarah comes, I am excited to meet her.

I have to say, this is the coolest hotel I have ever stayed in. Crown Plaza is so nice, I hate to even go home,lol. I am happy the BBQ was so much fun. I got to hang with the Mayor of Fort Myers, as he was asking me about the new baseball stadium in Omaha, and we got to discuss town issues. I am using this time as a networking tool as well. I have included a pic of me with the Mayor.

inspections

2010-06-17T14:05:00.001-07:00

So part of being a racer,is having alot of patience. We have alot of cases of hurry up and waiting. We got here and got all settled in, then had to run back out to the airport to do inspections. Inspections is where the officials check to make sure you are in racing form,and that the airplane is top form and all paperwork is crossed and dotted. We passed inspection, only we have to show we have a copy of the rules, and that I have to take this class to fly into Washington DC airspace. So I will do that tonight, so I am all current.
Another part of inspection is making sure your race numbers are put on correctly.

MADE IT!!!!

2010-06-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

After having to stop last night in Cross Ways, Florida due to storms. We stayed overnight at this town, which was kind of weird, but everyone was so nice. JoAnna at the Carriage Inn was the nicest host. So we took off this morning for the 1 and 1/2 hours trip, and we made it through inspections, and now it's time to relax. It's hot here in Florida. The following pics are from the past two days. From the start of our journey, to the storms we had to pass to get here. We ate at this restaurant that the decorations was mostly deer and had the small town feeling to it.

storms

2010-06-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

Storms popped up making us plan to reroute our trip,so we decided to leave early in the morning instead of having to waste fuel and time trying to fly around the storms (disadvantage of flying smaller airplanes), which as everyone knows 7:00 am is not early, since I am usually at work by 6:30. Man, it feels weird knowing tomorrow I will be getting up and not going to work. I think the longest I have ever been out of work for vacation is two weeks and that is when I had surgery, and now I'm going to be gone almost 3 weeks, it seems crazy. I'm going to miss the kids.

Well tomorrow, when we arrive to Florida I will post the first picture, and will probably post another blog about getting to Florida. It's about a 6 and 1/2 hour flight to get there. I'm all packed, possibly overpacked and ready to go. Now hopefully I can sleep tonight, because I am already excited about going to the beach. I miss going to the beach since moving back to the landlocked mid-west. Hoping to possibly pick up some cool shells to make some cool necklaces, that I can send home due to weight restrictions (heavier the plane is, the slower it goes).

almost here

2010-06-14T18:54:00.000-07:00

One week left before starting the engines. Suzanne and I will be leaving tomorrow for our journey to Florida. Sarah will join us this coming weekend, and I'm excited to met her. There is still chances to help donating by hitting the paypal button on the website.

thank you

2010-05-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

I would like to personally thank everyone who came out to the hanger dance. I hope everyone had fun.

wow

2010-05-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Time is flying, in about 35 days we will be leaving for the journey of a lifetime. I wanted to get some thank you's out before it gets crazy, first thank you to my family, who let me live out my dreams and supporting me. I would like to thank my partners, for being my partners and going along on this adventure.

This Saturday is the Hanger Dance at the Council Bluffs Iowa airport. It is running from 6-9 pm. $10.00 per person, 15.00 per couple, 6.00 for ages 13-17,and under 12 free. I will be having a silent auction as well. I cannot believe the media press on this dance. It has been on one news station, listed on a few others, two newspapers, the Indytransponder.com, the EAA Omaha Chapter website, flyers posted in stores, even made yahoo news. I hope this is a turn out,since every other time I have tried to have fundraisers, they were a bust.

Sunday, I am also having a pampered chef party, where part of the proceeds will be donated to our cause. Hopefully between both fundraisers, I raise enough money. I am getting excited as the days count down.

hanger dance benefit

2010-04-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

We are having a hanger dance/fly-in at Council Bluffs airport MAY 15TH from 6-9:00 PM. Raffle items will be available as well.

welcome to the 2010 race. We are number 23 this year.

2010-02-27T21:01:00.000-08:00

WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE WE ARE AIR RACE CLASSIC NUMBER 23

The new 2010 Snow Eagles race team, will consist of 3 female pilots. We are racing for a charity once again this year. We will be racing for the Nebraska Chapter of the Make-A-Wishfoundation. Dr. Suzanne Braddock lives in Omaha. She is a dermatologist with an office in Omaha. has been a licensed pilot since 1984, with private and instrument ratings. She initially became interested in aviation when the State of Nebraska flew her to North Platte, Ne for a medical clinic several
times a month. She happily spent many hours learning safety and quality
in aviation from the excellent State of Nebraska pilots who flew
several doctors in various aircraft over the years. She used her aviation skills to assist others in needed travel throughout the United States, especially members of various religious orders. She also fly to assist in medical care delivery in the region, and to speak at medical symposia. “By participating in the Air Race Classic,I would like to make the role of women in aviation better known, especially since women have had an important part to play both in aviation history and currently in commercial and private aviation. I would like to promote the role
of general aviation in community building, and highlight the special
competence women bring to this endeavor.” Suzanne likes to play the harp, and loves to travel.

Nicole Boettger will once again be racing. This is her 3rd race in the ARC. She is a private pilot with over 100 hours. "I love racing. This is the best adventure, and the ladies you meet become lifelong friends." Nicole is on her last semester of grad school,obtaining her Masters in Homeland Security. She is a certified Zumba fitness instructor. She works at the YMCA as a preschool/dance/tumbling/fitness instructor. She also works part time at Sokal School of Dance. In her free time, she is a member of the Polynesian Dance Studio, and loves hanging with her two doggies-a purebreed beagle, and a beagle doxie mix.

Sara Vanderpool will be joining the team, as a newbie. She is a licensed private pilot, with over 100 hours. She is a law student at Drake University. In free time, she likes to travel, fish, and is a card club member. "This race sounded like a good trip."

meeting a new potential parter

2009-11-08T16:19:00.000-08:00

So this weekend, I had some extra time and went to the Council Bluffs airport, as I had made up some posters to hang up at the local airports to try to find a partner for this year's air race. I got home,and received a phone call from Suzanne. She seemed like she was very interested,so I went today and met her and her plane. AWESOME PLANE, with an an awesome lady. She was very nice,and we seemed to match,even with the age difference. She has alot more experience than I,so I am willing to learn new things. I brought the program from last year's race, and tried to explain the race to the best of my abilities. We went over the cost,what some of our duties are going to be,etc. It will be nice to have a partner that is local, with this amount of time to get to know each other. So I hope this works out.

sad news

2009-08-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

I just got an email tonight,saying one of the 2009 air racers from team 31, has died an in airplane crash Wednesday in Minnesota. Irene was one of the sweetest girls, and the whole team was the nicest girls. Irene, you will be missed. Irene was so young looking,everyone thought she was like 18,or younger. I remember sitting behind her on the bus going to the Iowa aviation museum, and finding out she was married and she was at least 20, and she has a kid and I was like no,you don't look over the age of 18.
This is the second female pilot I have known to have crashed this year,and not survive. Chandy from Lincoln, Nebraska was the first, she was practicing for an airshow I was going to go to, and everyone kept trying to talk me into asking her to race,since she was one of top aerobatic performers, and I never got the chance to.

OSHGOSH

2009-08-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Have to say, 1 day is no where near enough. After driving all night,we made it to Oshgosh at 600 in the morning. So we decided we needed a short nap before going in. At 730, we decided to go in, and all I have to say is WOW!!! It was alittle disappointing in that most of the booths didn't open until 900 am and closed by 500pm, and I was happy to see Ford there, with the 2010 Milan(the car I really want) and Honda had the 2010 Fury(motorcycle I really want). They had the famous p-51's( my favorite airplane) even cooler yet, I reconized two of them,being from this area. I came home with four bags of free stuff/business cards/magazines, etc. I also bought two shirts, including one from GIRLSWITHWINGS.com. I met up with fellow racer and owner of girlswithwings.com. She said if I get sponsors, then she would be willing to be my partner,which is awesome. I also met up with two of my fellow plane-girls.
Oshgosh was awesome,and am excited to hopefully go back next year,and hopefully unlike this year, I won't be sick. I started getting sick Friday night before we left,and driving through the country just reeked havoc on my allergies. So by the time we got to Osh, I was ill. All the walking around, I did manage to wear the soles of my shoes that I bought a week before the ARC,completely down, if that gives a clue as to how much stuff there is to see at Osh.

update-since some of my preschool parents asked

2009-07-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

So after the race,life is beginning to resume back to what it was before. Squeege and I are both back to work. I have decided I want to race again next year. I don't think Squeege is going to, so I'm back to finding another partner. So I will be going to nearby airports and hanging flyers. I am going to race for a cause again next year,which I am really excited about next year's race-starts in Fort Myers, FL. I have gotten permission to race for Make-A-Wish foundation which means that I had to fill out paperwork and such and get an approval, in which the Nebraska Chapter has okayed. So once I get a partner, I can start fundraising. I am going to donate 50% of what is earned to the Nebraska Chapter Make-A-Wish foundation. See, the Nebraska chapter used to have a Fly'n for Make-A-Wish but the last time they did that was when I competed in 2007.
Also I am trying to fundraise,to do the SKYFARI around New Zealand,that the New Zealand team from ARC mentioned. I have always wanted to go to NZ since I lived in Hawaii. I have people who are donated gift certificates so I can raffle them off,so I can go. See, I miss Island life very much,lol. Hanging with the New Zealand team taking them on a visit to the Strategic Air and Space Museum the day after the awards Banquet was a blast. So hopefully the officials get back to me,saying they found someone that needs another team member.
Other then that, getting ready to go to OSHGOSH. And NO, not the clothing factory, but the biggest airshow in America. Like I tell people, it's the only airshow where u can learn how to build an airplane, learn to fly it, and how to repair it in one week. Thanks to my brother, I along with my mom,and dad get to go because of his motorcycle accident, he needed someone to rent a car since he is not old enough. He originally planned on driving his bike there, but totaled his bike along with getting injured a week after the ARC ended. So now the whole family is going to load up the car on Friday and drive overnight,since I lov driving late night, and attend the airshow on Saturday,and leave back for Iowa that night.

Nicole

Grace Flight Addison Office

2009-07-02T17:13:00.001-07:00

Here are BJ, Angie, Louie, Shireen & Squeege at the Addison office. Nikki & I collected a total of $4150 in sponsorships & winnings [did we mention we took 5th Place??] Of course sis Pauline & I flew the funds over; a whopping 42NM flight! We would like to thank the folks at Million Air for use of their ramp for the transaction. Thank you!

Sq

Back to Reality

2009-06-29T19:11:00.000-07:00

Atlantic: Thank you for your generosity from touchdown! What a great town y'all have. Classic 17, now back to 1941M, rolled down 30 and turned southbound @ 0830. We stopped @ KOUN to wait out thunderstorms loitering along the Red River from the panhandle through north central Texas. Missed the nephews as they had class & a window opened up around 13:50 so off we went in race mode: VFR low to watch for anything disadventageous. None to be had as...the Red River came into view and clear under the overcast all the way to KLUD.

41M pushed back into her hangar after a top-off ready to go anytime I am. She deserves one last removal of ARC acquired bugs and there she is! Clean, fueled annual time approaching...

One of the best homecomings: our Crepe Myrtles are all in bloom. To enjoy: approach a bloom, look closely for bees, if none present exhale then put your nose right next to the bloom & inhale deeply. Fantastic! Plus a feast for your eyes.

The end-all homecoming is my littlest one Parker telling me all about the goings-on while I've been absent. She is quite the storyteller as you can see. Well, that's about it from this half. Again, I look forward to Nikki's pics.
Healthfully yours,

Sq

2009-06-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Nikki & I capture 5th Place over-all! We'd like to thank our sponsors for their support, fellow racers for their fierce but friendly competition, and the Air Race Classic for coordinating a race spanning nine states. Maybe this will sink in while Nikki sets up her classroom in the morning & I'm somewhere sitting left seat in 41M. Until then, I'll be flying high sans plane.

Earlier, a few of us took a ride over to the Iowa Aviation Museum in Greenfield. What a collection of aircraft, pilot supplies and memorabilia! Here, our senior-most racer Bea stands beside the first type plane she flew.

I know Nicole has many more pictures that she will be posting in the near future - as soon as she gets her computer back & has her homework done ;-) . I look forward to seeing them.

Thank you again everyone! Much health to you all,

Sq

Sunday June 28 2009 ARC

2009-06-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Today started with the All Racers' Breakfast, followed by the All Racers' Debriefing. Another good meeting with exchange of ideas & circumstance in a civil, gentler & kinder way. Here is Bad *ss Caroline sporting her new “Girls Fly” tattoo. Get outta her way! Now we’re getting set for the Iowa Aviation Museum Tour to be followed by the Awards Banquet & Conclusion. The tension builds…

Sq

Dinner with the Trewets

2009-06-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Eleven of us Racers were treated to a wonderful evening with the Trewet extended family & friends. They welcomed us into their home, hosting a wonderful relaxed evening out back, dinner, and desert. We were glad to hear that Papa Trewet has sparked aviation in at least two of the grandchildren. We thank them again for their generosity and wish them a safe summer.

Sq

Mixed Emotions Day...

2009-06-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

We'd like to thank all of our sponsors and here, as we promised, we've had Peterson Performance Plus & Lightspeed up front (when parked) and Alto Stratus in the side window. All proceeds are going to Grace Flight of America as a 501 (c)(3) organization that relies completely on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations & special events.

Here, the park in Atlantic welcomes us & the locals to the airport this weekend. It is so nice to see a community support its airport.

This one is for all my friends who know how much I appreciate the lines & flight characteristics of the Cessna 177. A true classic - Minnetta & Linda are flying for the Multiple Sclerosis Society

Well, today started with the First-Time Racers Debriefing; a constructive meeting with many positive and to be improved points. Then, for twelve of us, inspections of planes and for five of us, another box to be flown for the handicap. And for one lucky soul: Mama Carastro is returning from a fly-in in the donated ride of Big Baby Doll: this P-51. Tonight we each have a host family to enjoy the evening with.
Tomorrow we start @ 0800 with All Racers' Breakfast & Debriefing, following with a tour of the Iowa Aviation Museum Tour, then the Awards Banquet & Conclusion of ARC 2009 ! Stay tuned for further announcements...

Sq

DAY 4 2009 AIR RACE CLASSIC FINAL

2009-06-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

Racine were great hosts among all of our great hosts. They had pulled out Classic 8 as well as Classic 17 from the protective hangars; both ready for their preflights & last leg of ARC 2009. Those completed, we left Racine as many others were coming in from Jacksonville: sitting on the taxiway, listen for the high-speed flybys above your head...is the hair up on the nape of your neck??? YeeeeeeeHaaa! Thanks Racine!

Down on the ground in ATLANTIC, IOWA...the marathon is completed! Nikki is excited she's HOME & Mom met us immediately. Tie-downs applied & a knot tying lesson (thanks Stephanie) in the afternoon shower that started done, we walk into the terminal and find a great welcome from the Atlantic folks. Then it's off to the motel for a refreshing & much needed nap. And it's a good thing I captured THAT as we've just gotten a call: I need to be at the airport by 10am for another timing box to verify the handicap! So, I GET TO FLY AGAIN ! Whoo Hoo! But, now how am I supposed to sleep?!?
Oh, and the Atlantic folks hosted a very nice Hangar Party with part sun, nice breeze & excellent BBQ this afternoon.
Too many thoughts in my head right now... Stay tuned for Race weekend activities...

Sq

2009 Air Race Classic DAY 3

2009-06-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

Awoke with the weather as an issue. So, we watched the low progress & were expecting to wait it out till Friday in Jacksonville, when things began to move more quick. Load the plane & off we go in the middle of the afternoon, carefully watching the potential convection soup to our west. Nothing materialized during our hour & a half trip and what a welcome we were treated to in Racine. We were greeted with a warm HELLO and current weather when we reported 10 miles out on the approach! Timers waving HELLO as we taxi'd over to parking, then the airport manager David Mann offered a hangar for 41M, I mean, Classic 17 for the night. Almost forgot to mention the ice cold water & quick fuel; air conditioning in the terminal building enjoyed after bug removal. We are in great position for the last leg of the race: Racine, WI to Atlantic, IA.
Nikki has some in air pictures of a couple of copters flying in formation, but we'll have to download them some other time. I'll try to remember the other digital tomorrow...
Sq

DAY 2 2009 Air Race Classic 17

2009-06-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

So, since the pics were uploaded backwards...
We end the day in Jacksonville, IL with the setting sun in our eyes for the final fly-by. And what an interesting fly-by it turns out to be: there is a prison @ 3.5NM on the approach path that we must stay up @ 2000' to pass over. Our fly-by height is 200' above ground level. So, as RACERS, we get to descend at a screaming pace to be at the altitude we need to be at for the timing line (can you see my grin??) Then a close pattern to land in a beautiful part of the country. The people were so glad to see us (the group of seven planes that landed within about an hour of each other) as they had been waiting since yesterday! Another stop with ice cold water & fixins'... and air conditioning in the terminal building that was enjoyed after bug removal. Then, as we were taken - thanks Jack (our driver) - to the hotel, we were in a magical place that I can only describe as what Walt Disney tried to capture with Tinkerbell flying around: the grasses & fields of corn were thick with fireflies that escorted us into town. I used to see a few of them in Western NY while growing up, but I've never been surrounded with this copious amount.

Here is Nikki (that's her on the other side) & Classic 17 getting fuel from the island fuel farm at Sparta, TN: these folks were READY for us! On the radio, asking what we needed as we taxi'd & then...the ice cold water. And did I mention the spread they had here for us? Nice air conditioned terminal building that was enjoyed after bug removal. They also had two computers for us to plan whether or not we'd press on for another leg. Our briefing showed another afternoon of pop-up thunderstorms with the requisite SIGMET. Radar showing the whole southern part of IL with thunderstorms. BUT the outlook says they will be dissipating...checking the Water Vapor 1km tells the story: not enough to keep it going, so load her up & here we go! Thank you Sparta!
We stayed VFR below and could easily see the buildups as well as the little rain showers that were able to form. And of course we called & filed another PIREP & got the goods enroute from Flight Watch.

Wild Mama Pilot Terry got this shot of us as we performed our fly-by to continue at Grenada, MS after stopping for fuel. When we arrived, we were greeted with personnel waiting for us on the ramp & in the terminal building: cold water & an excellent lunch. Quick fuel service was had, air conditioning enjoyed after bug removal & the personnel were friendly & welcoming. Thank you Grenada!

Well, we missed the 1st alarm, the 2nd alarm and thankfully were awakened with the 3rd alarm. A quick Holiday Inn Express breakfast bar & off to the airport we go. Classic 17 all fueled & debugged from last night just waiting for us. Preflight completed, we left with the arrivals & quick turns of some of the teams that had left Sweetwater earlier. Just prior to packing the plane, I was able to get an excellent picture of Team Wild Mama performing her fly-by to land. Can you hear that? vvvvvvvvrrrrroooommmmmmm aaaahhhhhh !!! Thank you Lufkin!
We stayed lower for this leg & performed a fly-by to continue at Russellville, AR & onto Grenada, MS (see above).

The Race is ON !

2009-06-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

Our time across the timing line this morning (unofficial) was 14 22 05 Z (8:22am MT) at Denver Centennial. Off to a flyby at Liberal, KS then onto Sweetwater, TX where we made a full stop for fuel & a quick turn to continue onto Lufkin, TX. We passed the timing line here at 21 55 22 Z (3:55pm CT). While we were enroute, a convective sigmet was posted, and since no HIWAS stations were near (and Lufkin's VORTAC with HIWAS is unoperative) I called Flight Watch for weather while northeast of Waco. Storms had popped up in the heating of the day along the northeast portion of TX & the southern 2/3rds of AR. What to do? Let's stop at Lufkin, gas up & check weather, read: look at a RADAR ourselves. The volunteers here were great for a quick top-off & a very cold bottle of water which went down fast. Unfortunately, racing under & around thunderstorms is not conducive to a fast legtime, so here we stay. Looking forward to tomorrow, fog is forecasted for Russellville, AR & not forecasted to burn off until 9am. Unfortunately, Nikki has already passed out cold & I can't tell her to sleep in, so I'll just set the alarm later.
An extra special surprise: we called Abilene Approach for permission to transition their airspace from west to east as soon as we left Sweetwater. Low & behold, Cardinal N11950 checked in! I sneaked in a "Hi" to John & when we exited the airspace to the east, we had a nice chat on the air-to-air frequency & he wished us the best of luck for the race. N11950 was the first (quarter) airplane I owned with John, Skip, Ray & their families before 41M made it into my world.
Needing some rest, I'll close now. Stay tuned!

Sq

2009-06-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Safety, education, promotion of women in aviation. Here we are in the fly by briefing to be followed by the safety briefing, outlook weather briefing, and the FIRST TIMERS briefing. Nikki skipped the 1st timers' to go to the Golden State National Park and Golden Colorado: Home of COORS. She's back & now we have PLANNING to do. See y'all tomorrow.

Sq

2009-06-22T18:11:00.000-07:00

Centennial is a Community that supports their airports. I am looking forward to seeing this spread.

Sq

2009-06-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Sunday night brought the Take-Off Banquet hosted by the Colorado 99's which have done an awesome job with everything here at the Start. Quite a few racers had families at the dinner & I sat in the rowdy back with my Thelma. An education to be had at that table...
Sq

Sunday June 21

2009-06-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

While Squeege was flying the timeline to get our handicap, I attended a special event that the Denver Jet Center put on. It was the premier of the Pancho Barnes movie,and about the Living Legend series. The event had the first female commercial pilot, the artist who did the program book cover, and fellow speakers. I did not get to stay for the whole event,as we had a all racer meeting that was mandatory.

2009-06-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

There's Nikki right in her element: teaching! Air Race Classic folks showed the local kids airplanes, then brought them up to the ramp where a nice chalk masterpiece of an airport was quickly drawn & the kids got to simulate planes in the pattern. Next brought the kids inside to two activities.
Next on the schedule: Welcome reception.
Both of todays' excursions are hosted in KAPA's Denver Tech Center East. Thank you!
Sq

2009-06-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

Got her! After 1) working today, 2) flying today: now current & has her high performance rating, and 3) catching a commercial flight she's got her feet up. That's good, 'cause we've got some strategy planning to do.

Sq

2009-06-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

The Inspection Team went through their checklist after our static run-up. Nice to see the Horizon tach match the official digital Proptach. Actually, I felt 41M try to hover ;-) Everything in order and we headed over to TAC Air where she'll be tied down until Tuesday morning. Next on the agenda: PICK UP NICOLE & let the party begin, I mean the planning begin.
Sq

Arrived @ KAPA

2009-06-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

41M & I had a four hour flight to Denver today at 10,500 feet. The last hour and fifteen minutes complete with continuous light chop. Fortunately, there were no cookies in the plane to be tossed. I quickly cleaned off the bugs before they dried on, loaded the rental & got in touch with family here.
Going to get some rest tonight & then get in touch with my Private Pilot Flight Instructor Lisa who I have not seen in (have to check my logbook) wow! ten years!
Will sign up for (hopefully) an early inspection for Friday.
Sq

All About the Bird

2009-06-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sis Pauline & I cruised up to Norman, OK to see the nephews [and circulate some warm oil]. Old Mother Hubbard didn't have anything on the boys' shelves! That fixed, 41M performed flawlessly for the trips there & back without picking up too many Texas-sized bugs.

Today has been all about 41M. The race numbers went on last night; she's had her bath & fresh wax job today as well as an inside clean. Another read through the rules & final paperwork notations tonight are in order. That will leave packing and more weather/winds aloft forecast study.

Yeeeeeee HA!

Sq

2009-06-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

Who is GraceFlight.org

2009-06-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is taking from the GraceFlight.org website itself, www.graceflight.org.

The mission of Grace Flight of America is to help people in need of free air transportation for medical and humanitarian purposes. It is our goal to remove the transportation burden from patients so they can get to specialized medical treatment not available to them locally and focus on getting well. Many of our patients do not have access to conventional transportation or are too ill to drive or fly commercially. Grace Flight is here to help! Completely free of charge! Grace Flight of America relies completely on volunteer pilots and donations from individuals, foundations, clubs and corporations.

Two weeks

2009-06-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's the two week countdown. By this time in exactly two weeks, we will have flown some of our legs. I know I am getting excted. Squeege and I are preparing by flight planning, trying to get last minute sponsors, I'm getting my high performance rating,and will have that done by the time I leave next Friday that way I will be checked out for the 182. I will be leaving for Denver Friday night. Squeege is leaving in the middle of the week for Denver,since she has the plane,and has to fly the plane itself to Denver,and we all want to make sure it's ready for inspection and ready to go.
Let's go Snow Eagles, there are a lot of preschoolers checking in on us. They have first dibbs on our whereabouts,since they are the ones who named our team.

excited to say

2009-05-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed for the newspaper,and our article has spread, not only from my local paper but it went to Lexington, Nebraska, to AOPA daily brief that gets sent to everyone listed with AOPA to Graceflight.org, website itself. Despite having my last name spelled wrong, and the airplane wrong, we are flying a 182 it was an overall pretty good article. I have also sent a press release out to the other big newspaper in my area, the Omaha World Herald. Here is the link to the article. http://southwestiowanews.com/articles/2009/05/27/council_bluffs/doc4a1d5caa8f95d805958024.txt
I am excited to say that we are counting down,getting the plane prep, becoming familiar with the flight planner, and getting the hotel preparations made.

Tucked comfy in hangar

2009-05-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

41M was tucked away in the hangar last night after her pre-race check-up was completed. Efinger Aviation of Ft Worth has her READY for us.
Maximizing her performance & planning the best conditions are up to Nikki & me.

One month to inspection. Bring it on!

Sq

Cowl is off today

2009-05-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

41M has her cowl off today; compression checks, oil and filter change, spark plugs cleaned, examined & replaced those that needed to be. Found the alternator belt coming apart, so thankfully, that is being changed also.
Scheduled her pre-race wash & wax for June.

Thanks again to all our sponsors! We will race to make y'all proud.

Sq

36 days and counting down

2009-05-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

I know the excitement is building. It's only alittle over a month away. I am looking into getting some 182 time at the end of this month, maybe sooner. Preparations are beginning, flight planning, weight balances, and such. We are still looking for sponsors, since we are trying to raise money for Grace Flight. I would like to take this time, to thank the sponsors who have already helped contribute to our success.
I will be visiting the town where we end this coming weekend, since I am doing the parade in the town over,Elk Horn, which has offered to do some tours of the Danish Windmill.

We have many ways, you can help with the donations.

1. I am selling the Omaha Coupon Sidekick Book, which has $1,000's of savings on gas,entertainment, sports,etc. The book is $20 in which we receive $10.

2, I am also selling Cookie Lee Jewelry, in which we receive 25% of the sales.

3, Magazine subscriptions you can buy online at www.magfundraising.com/airrace in which we get a percentage of the sales amount.

4, Donate right here,on this website, the donate button on the right top of this page.

5,Any litte bit helps, so just ask us how you can help,and we will be happy to answer.

Cirrus Level has been achieved!

2009-05-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

Todd & Jo Peterson of http://www.katmai-260se.com/ Peterson Performance Plus have reached Cirrus Sponsorship Level. We are proud to have them support us and Grace Flight of America. Please visit their site with our hyperlink above.

Happy to say

2009-05-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

We have our first donation. Thank you!!!!! I know both Squeege and I are getting excited. We got our registration for pre and post race today in email, so it's finally count down time. I know both Squeege and I are hitting the pavement hard for donations. Tomorrow at the City Wide garage sale, I will be trying to hit people up for donations. And now that I'm down to two jobs instead of three, I will have more time to commit to the race.

Please pass our log website to other people, both Squeege and I posted the link on facebook, and I did on myspace and twitter.

another way to donate money

2009-04-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

I have set up an account with fundable.com. This is like an online auction, but the thing is I have 26 days to collect the goal which I set at $550. If I do not, then no one who bids gets charged. So here is the link:http://www.fundable.com/groupactions/groupaction.2009-04-26.7780833046. The min. bid is $10.00,or you can go to the donate button on the right of this blog, and donate, and u can donate lower than $10.00.
Well Squeege and I are hitting the pavement hard when it comes to getting sponsorships. I have sent over 100 letters, posted out flyers all over towns, and am going to be doing a few parades to try to get interest. Squeege is making phone calls. Let's hope something comes out of our hard work.

flyer

2009-04-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

Help support a great cause! The Snow Eagles Racing Team is raising awareness and much needed financial support for:
GRACE FLIGHT OF AMERICA
The Mission of Grace Flight of America is to help people in need of free air transportation for medical & humanitarian purposes, removing the burden from patients so that they can focus on getting well. Grace Flight of America is a recognized 501 (c) (3) charitable aviation organization that relies completely on donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, and special events. All Grace Flights are completely free of charge.
Who are the Snow Eagles? Glad you asked: Pilot Louise “Squeege” Scudieri and Co-Pilot Nicole Boettger are flying in the 80th Air Race Classic, a cross country race of all women pilots. Please follow us as we race. (http://www.snoweaglesracingteam.blogspot.com/)
Become a sponsor! Squeege & Nikki will use a portion of monies for expenses; but at least 80% of donations and winnings will go to Grace Flight of America.

All donors will be listed at our blog; if you’d like your name or company logo listed on our T-Shirts, front windshield advertising board and blog, consider reaching for Cirrus level. Alto Nimbus will get you a side window advertising board spot as well as a blog listing:
Cirrus $1000
Alto Nimbus $500
Stratus $250
Cumulous $100
Misty $<99

Contact Louise at (214) 674 4339 1613 Thousand Oaks Dr Decatur, Texas 76234

Contact Nicole at (402) 813 0791 1449 Dorene Blvd Carter Lake, Iowa 51510

sponsorship

2009-04-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

The team is still looking for sponsorship,as every little bit helps. The money raised outside racing expeneses goes to www.graceflight.org. I have found a way to use paypal,so people can send us donations through paypal,if they want to. We are trying to raise over $4,000.

64 days and counting down

2009-04-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

So this is crunch time for both of us. I am working hard and hitting the pavement everyday,trying to get sponsors. Every little bit helps right. I got this really cool coupon book someone set me up with to sale as a fundraiser, also doing some jewelery sales, and any other fundraiser that comes up. I know Squeege is working on getting sponsors too,because all the money goes toward a great cause that we both feel strongly about.

meeting for the first time

2009-04-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well Squeege and I met for the first time, and I do have to say she has an awesome plane. I'm excited. While at the Bluebonnet air show, we met up with the plane-girls,since I'm on their team, and Doc took some photos of us to use for promotional things. I do have to say they came out good, I'm really picky with pics. I think Squeege and I will get alot great, especially since she is going to load the plane up with Diet Coke,and I love DC.

Welcome

2009-03-28T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Nicole. This is Classic team 17's blogsite to keep everyone updated on the progress of the race team. Classic 17 is known as the Snow Eagles race team. We are excited to be able to share with you our race experience, and how much fun we are having.

This is Nicole's second race, and Squeege's first race. The race will take us to many parts of the country, with the start being in Denver, Colorado, and the finish in Atlantic, Iowa- near Nicole's town. The race runs approx. 2700 sm, and starts June 23-26. WE ARE LOOKING FOR SPONSORS, as both the plane and we need food, racing is expensive. We will list all sponsors on here, as well as an media, wear your logo, and such. THIS YEAR WE ARE RACING FOR A CAUSE, ALL DONATIONS OUTSIDE RACING EXPENSES WILL GO TO http://www.graceflight.org/

The race dates back to 1929 with Amelia Earhart as one of the racers. The Air Race Classic is a long standing tradition for female pilots, as it is the longest race in history for female pilots. It is a great honor to be racing in the race. Let's introduce this year's Snow Eagle Racing Team.

Nicole has had her private pilot's license for about 3 years with around 130 hours. This is her second race ARC, and actual 3rd air race-as she had done a smaller race across Nebraska for Make-a-Wish.She is working on her instrument rating. She is hoping to someday get into aerobatic flying, and air racing is the newest hobby of hers. She is a college student working on her Master's in Homeland Security. She is a preschool teacher at the YMCA, works for the Spirit of Nebraska Girl Scout Council in the community support troops, and a volunteer for the Air and Space Museum for overnight camps. She volunteers for the Young Eagle flight program through the EAA. In her little free time, she likes to dance with the Polynesian and Hula Dance Studio, do pageants, and modeling. She likes to read science fiction books, and spends time with her purebreed beagle and beagle/ Doxie mix. She is a member of plane-girls.com

Squeege, also known as Louise, is from Texas. She has over 1000 hours as a private pilot with instrument rating. She is the owner of the airplane we will be flying, a cessna 182. Squeege is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. She is also a volunteer pilot for Grace Flight, the group we are raising funds for. She has been known to visit family members a couple of states away to coordinate and bring patients to treatments to Texas. During Squeege's free time, she is a proud dog owner-with having three Beagles of her own. She likes to do stuff around the house like gardening, cooking, and smoking: BBQ.

It is an interesting story how we came up with snow eagles racing team. Nicole's preschoolers named the air race team, after seeing the airplane colors. It was a colder day, and it had just snowed a few weeks before, and the kids said since airplanes fly like eagles, and the colors are the flag colors, the name should be eagles. And snow was added due to starting in Denver, which gets a lot more snow than Iowa.

I hope you will join us on our adventures. Please take the time to help support our team.

Snow Eagles Air Racing Team to race in 2011 Air Race Classic

sad to say

New Year-New Race

more pics

race results

Day after finishing the race

FINALLY MADE IT!!!

even more pics

more pics

race day 3

2nd day of racing

first day of racing

Day 1

Sara's First Blog

count down

getting relaxed to get the game face on

inspections

MADE IT!!!!

storms

almost here

thank you

wow

hanger dance benefit

welcome to the 2010 race. We are number 23 this year.

meeting a new potential parter

sad news

OSHGOSH

update-since some of my preschool parents asked

Grace Flight Addison Office

Back to Reality

Sunday June 28 2009 ARC

Dinner with the Trewets

Mixed Emotions Day...

DAY 4 2009 AIR RACE CLASSIC *FINAL*

2009 Air Race Classic DAY 3

DAY 2 2009 Air Race Classic 17

The Race is ON !

Sunday June 21

Arrived @ KAPA

All About the Bird

Who is GraceFlight.org

Two weeks

excited to say

Tucked comfy in hangar

Cowl is off today

36 days and counting down

Cirrus Level has been achieved!

Happy to say

another way to donate money

flyer

sponsorship

64 days and counting down

meeting for the first time

Welcome

DAY 4 2009 AIR RACE CLASSIC FINAL