At Liberal we did a fast turnaround, and set off on the next leg which was 276nm to Sweetwater Texas, with me flying left seat. Again we made much better winds than predicted. We have taken a completely different approach to what we did last year. Instead of trying to predict what altitude the best winds are at, and wasting time climbing and descending to find them, we are flying at low altitude. Also, instead of trying to maintain a precise altitude, we are using the thermals and downdrafts to pick up speed, and are allowing the plane to follow them, so our altitude varies by hundreds of feet sometimes. Its too early to say, but we think this approach might work quite well...
At Sweetwater, we stopped again for gas after the flyby. Airport ground staff were very helpful, as at all the stops, giving us water and snacks and welcoming us. We also got interviewed by a reporter from the local paper! Sweetwater was home to the WASP (Women's Airforce Service Pilots), and we'd have loved to stay and see the museum, but with good weather we really wanted to continue. But we thought of our own Easter PA WASP Anne Shields! One of the race airplanes is carrying a WASP passenger Bernice Heydu, which is awesome.
This is where the bad news kicks in - are you ready?! While I was inside getting a weather briefing for the next leg by phone, Mary went outside. After a few minutes I saw her come back into the building, but now with a limp, a black eye, and a skinned shoulder and knees. Turns out she ran across the tarmac to help tow an airplane, got her foot caught, and fell headlong. Her ankle hurt very much, but she insisted on going on, and would not hear any discussion. So we set off on the third leg of the day, with me flying instead of Mary, 301 nm to Lufkin Texas. Mary did the radios and nav of course, and we did a great leg, and made great tailwinds.
Once we landed in Lufkin, it became apparent that Mary couldn't put any weight on her foot. Our wonderful new friend Sid Love drove us all the way to the ER, and after a lengthy wait for X rays etc it turns out that Mary has indeed broken her ankle, although it is more of a chip and not a displaced fracture or anything really bad. They put her in a cast to immobilize and gave her crutches, and that is pretty much how she will stay until she gets home. Thank you to the hospital staff, including Jo Anne, for your help.
So here we are at the hotel, completely exhausted, with a 5am wakeup call coming up. We completed three out of nine legs in the first day, with great times, but one of our pilots is injured. It is most likely that we'll continue the race with me flying and Mary doing right seat duties, but we'll decide that in the morning when we get up!
Mary in the ER, looking happier than she felt.
