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2005 Air Race Classic 'flight log'

June 24, 2005

by Erica Ebenhoeh and Sarah Tower

LAFAYETTE, Ind.--We made it! Today, we completed the 2005 Air Race Classic.

In the past four days, we have flown 20.5 hours covering a total distance of 2,436.3 miles. We got up this morning at 0500 and departed Tullahoma, Tenn., at 0700. We flew 300 miles to Athens, Ohio, home of Ohio University. We enjoyed a nice lunch, refueled, researched the updated weather and departed for the final flyby.

Due to traffic congestion at Lafayette, the final flyby took place 10 miles to the east at Frankfort (Ind.) Municipal Airport. We flew the line and continued on to Purdue University. Once on the ground, we felt relieved to have finished. We unloaded our stuff and secured the airplane. Our airplane is now impounded until after the post-race inspections are complete. The race board needs to be certain that we didn't tamper with our engine during the race.

Tomorrow, we will meet with the chief scorer and judge to compare our times to his calculations. We hope the two numbers are no more than a few seconds off, but even with knowing our final score, we won't know where we stand until the awards gala Sunday night.

This evening after getting cleaned up and resting for a while, we joined the other race teams at a social at the center of Purdue's campus life. We got to wind down and share stories with the other racers. In the end, we're all glad to be safe on the ground.

--Sarah Tower

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Media contact: Thom Myers, 269 387-8400, thom.myers@wmich.edu

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