|
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Happy
Landing: K-State pilots finish Air Race Classic
Natalie
Blair
nblair@k-state.edu
K-State
Salina
Salina, Kan.,
(June 30, 2011) - Stormy weather, red X's on the GPS, and a significant
change to the race route didn't stop Megan Henderson and Nicole
Lordemann from finishing in 15th place in the ultimate summer adventure
for two female pilots: Air Race Classic 2011.
Henderson and
Lordemann both juniors in K-State Salina's professional pilot program,
competed in the historic race in a Cessna Skyhawk 172 equipped with a
Garmin G1000 avionics system -- but no air conditioning. It was often
more than 100 degrees in the cockpit. The duo wore matching pink
bandanas-turned-headbands "to help absorb sweat and keep us
cool," Henderson said.
"Even
though we knew we would experience long, hot days, we chose the
aircraft because the G1000 helped us navigate," Henderson said.
"It showed us how much fuel we were burning per hour and how much
fuel we had left."
|
|
|
Megan
Henderson, left, and Nicole Lordemann, right, are greeted by aviation
department faculty upon their return to K-State Salina after
competing in Air Race 2011. Photo by Mike Wise.
|
Lordemann said
another useful feature of the G1000 is that it shows which direction
the wind is coming from and what angle to fly at to keep the plane on
course and in a straight line.
"That was
important during the race because scores depend on your leg time, so we
were able to find good tailwinds to have a better time," she said.
In fact, they only had to fight a headwind during one leg.
The 50 teams
competing this year planned to start the race in Iowa City, at 8 a.m.
June 21, but the start was pushed back to noon June 22 in Alliance,
Neb. Weather conditions along the race's northern route caused
organizers to cancel the first five legs, and seven teams decided to
drop out of the race.
Competitors
originally planned to leave Iowa City and make stops in Brookings,
S.D.; Jamestown, N.D.; Spearfish, S.D.; and Rawlins, Wyo., before
landing in Nebraska. The ladies were already in Iowa when the call was
made so they decided to head south to Topeka, Kan., and then back north
to Alliance.
On the first
day of the race, the K-State team flew from Alliance to Great Bend,
Kan., and then on to Borger, Texas, where they stayed overnight. The
second leg was the only time during the race that they had to fight a
headwind.
It was during
that first leg of the race that the pilots experienced a problem
neither of them had dealt with before. Somewhere between Alliance and
Great Bend, the GPS screen started displaying red X's where the engine
indicator information, such as engine and oil temperatures, had been.
"We
looked at each other and said, 'uh oh,'" Lordemann said.
"Your engine can stop on you if it gets overheated."
The pilots
could hear the engine, though, and didn't hear anything alarming.
Henderson
continued flying while Lordemann started searching the GPS manual for
troubleshooting information. After about five minutes, the X's
disappeared and the system returned to working order. They didn't have
any additional trouble with it, or the engine, for the rest of the trip.
They were up
early the next morning, checking weather reports and planning their
route to Norman, Okla., followed by a stop in El Dorado, Ark., where
they stayed overnight rather than proceed to the final stop.
"There
were a few teams that went ahead and finished the race that night but
we didn't go on because there were thunderstorms in the area and we
weren't sure we could get there on VFR," Lordemann said, referring
to visual flight rules. Under visual flight rules, pilots can fly only
when the conditions are clear enough for the pilots to see where the
aircraft is going.
Day three
brought them from Arkansas to the Mobile, Ala., finish line at about 11
a.m., giving them a total race time of 9 hours, 13 minutes, 5 seconds.
When they crossed the finish line, they estimated about 20 teams were
already on the ground. Excited to have completed the race, which was
cut from 2,722 miles to 1,230 miles, they still didn't know how they
would place.
Planes are
assigned a handicap speed, and the pilots' goal is to have their actual
ground speed be as far over the handicap speed as possible. The
handicapping system lets each team race within the capabilities of
their plane. N810KS, the plane the ladies flew, was handicapped with a
speed of 125 mph.
The pilots
agree that their favorite part of the competition were fly-bys.
"You fly top speed over a specified point on the timing line and
that's where they stop the clock for that leg of the race,"
Henderson said.
The duo got
help from two women who know exactly what they are going through. Robin
Lawsand Nikki Gaskins competed in the Air Race Classic themselves while
students at K-State Salina.
In addition to
providing advice and practicing scenarios with Lordemann and Henderson,
Laws and Gaskins set up a blog for the students so they could provide
updates as the competition progressed. The blog is available at http://ksuarc.blogspot.com.
Henderson and
Lordemann said they wouldn't have been able to compete without the help
of several other people, too.
"We are both
very thankful for all of the help we have received," Henderson
said. "We've had a lot of support from Jan Burton and the Conner
Burton Aviation Foundation, our instructors and Kathy Sanders in the
dean's office. Mike Wise, senior aviation manager, and the K-State
aviation maintenance crew have all been wonderful."
The ladies
hope to compete in Air Race 2012.
"Now that
we know what we're doing and what to expect, we can't wait to do it
again," Lordemann said. "We had a great time, met some
incredible female pilots and learned a lot."
More
information about the race can be found at http://www.airraceclassic.org.
|
