Flying more than 2,000 miles cross country in three days in a single engine airplane is a challenge.
Doing it with a fractured foot is that much tougher.
From June 22-25, the Thunderbird women? pilots Roxanne Swope, a Brandon Township resident, and Terry Kane of Ann Arbor, participated in the 39th Annual Air Race Classic. The 2,200 mile, all-women air race began in Fredericksburg, Va. with stops in Hickory, N.C., Connellsville, Pa., Jeffersonville, Ind., Kalamazoo, Mich., Lawrenceville, Ill., Kirksville, Mo., Union City, Tenn., Gadsden, Ala. and concluding in Fairhope, Ala. This year 55 teams entered the race and 49 completed the journey. The Thunderbird team made the cross country trek in a 1981 Cessna 172 equipped with a 180 hp single engine in 18 hours, 22 minutes good enough for 16th place overall, which included a first place finish in the second leg and fourth place in the ninth leg of the race.
‘On June 10, about nine days before the race, I was in a head-on collision in Brighton Township,? said Swope, a pilot for more than 25 years. ‘An oncoming driver crossed over the center line of the road and hit me, crushing my foot. I was sitting there crying, not because of the pain, but I was thinking this is not gong to keep me out of the race.?
Swope’s concern was operation of the airplane’s rudder and brakes, which is done with the pilot’s feet.
‘The boot put on my foot was too big for the pedals and the chance for a blood clot was also greater,? added Swope. ‘The doctor cut the cast off and gave me the OK to fly, but only as the navigator and radio person? not the pilot. ‘That’s OK,? I thought, ‘at least I’m going.??
The historic women’s air race started in 1929, and was originally called the Women’s Air Derby and included a field of 20 women pilots that included Amelia Earhart and was won by Louise Thaden. The All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race (Powder Buff Derby) was formed in 1948 and ran until 1977. The ARC ran its first race in 1977 with a 2,400 mile race from Santa Rosa, Calif. to Toledo, Ohio and it is the longest running air race in the country.
‘We had planned this race for months and it’s also very costly,? she added. ‘I wanted to be in that freaking race.?
The challenges continued for the Thunderbirds.
‘It’s Monday, June 22 we are the 54th plane to take off’we are at Fredericksburg, Va. and a low voltage light comes on,? she said. ‘Our alternator is bad. We can’t fly now because we’ll run out of electrical power for the plane. We are on the ground and the clock has not started. We had another alternator flown in and we took off, but then the regulator light comes on.?
The team had to use electrical power sparingly and Swope used dead reckoning’the process of calculating a position, by estimating the direction and distance traveled rather than by using landmarks, astronomical observations, or electronic navigation methods.
The regulator was fixed the next day and they continued.
‘It was a long ride and a great experience,? she said. ‘There were a lot of trials, but we did not give up. We had mixed emotions, our plane had problems we had a lot thrown at us. We thought we would be last but a top 20 finish with no penalties was great.?
The Thunderbirds were supported by; Barbara Solms, Jane Keeline, Anthony Swope, RoseAnna Ostrowski, Rick Billington of Macomb Aviation, Dorothy Hanna, John Murray, the Kaufman Family, the Benson family, Patricia Judd, Dick and Linda Johnson, Joan Zeckzer and Marie Wilcox, Kaczor Family, Screen Works, Chad Sandusky, Dee with D’s Tees, DJ with The Pilot Shop and Jim Campbell.