Terry Carbonell, Pilot
My mantra for life is
"Never let fear, alone, stop you." I started flying at the ripe ole' age of 44 at the
request of my husband, a private pilot who recently passed away from Alzheimer's Disease. I did not take to flying: the development of wings has been an evolutionary process which has taken its' jolly old time. But after nearly 4 years, 1200+ hours, an instrument rating, a commercial
rating, tail wheel rating, a sea plane rating and lots of help from other pilots, instructors and friends, my flight
feathers are becoming fully developed, and I look forward to a long love affair with life above this earth. This will be my third year flying the Air Race Classic;
the first being in 2007. From the planning to the cross country trip out to Oklahoma City and through-out the race to
Saint John and back home, I was pretty well hooked. I liked the atmosphere, the excitement of the race, the planning
and strategy, and the other ladies who were volunteers and competitors but became friends. One of those ladies, was Caroline.
My friends tell me I
suffer from "terra-firma phobia" as I would much rather be scuba diving or flying. I have traveled over a large
part of the world as a passenger but now it is my turn to be PIC. Since getting my license in May 2005, I have flown across
the US several times. My "cross countries" are literally clear across the country. In 2006, we went from SW
Florida to Las Vegas, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rushmore. The 2007 trip included an overflight of the Grand Canyon, a visit to a fellow racer in southern California, Yosemite
National Park, the many air museums in northern Oregon, Seattle, Teton National Park and the Ozark region of Arkansas.
We have also flown Wild Mama to Niagara Falls, Cancun, Mexico and to the Bahamas, not to mention the 2007 ARC
from Oklahoma City to Saint John, NB, Canada. All and all, I have landed at over 150 different airports throughout the US,
Canada, Bahamas and Mexico. I have also participated 2 years in the Okie Derby proficiency race garnering 3rd and 7th
place finishes. Most importantly, I fulfilled my husbands' wish of spending all the time he could in an airplane during the
time he had left on this earth as he accompanied me on the vast majority of my journies and logged over 1000 hours in 3 years as my most prized passenger and #1 fan.
I have developed
a real passion for flying and I especially enjoy sharing that passion with the next generation of aviators. My flying goals for this year include aerobatic training, continued participation
in the FAA Wings Program and successfully organizing the Sunshine Derby with the Paradise Coast Chapter 99s.
Aviation affiliations include the Ninety-Nine's,
Paradise Chapter, Women in Aviation Int'l, volunteer for Angel Flight, Lawyer Pilot's Bar Association,
Director for Air Race Classic, Inc. and AOPA.
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Terry & Caroline with Wild Mama |
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Caroline Baldwin, co-Pilot
Caroline started air racing in
2002 and has flown five races since, including 2007 and 2008 where she and Terry met and became friends. She has logged over
600 hours and one parachute jump and can be found flying her Piper Cherokee all over the Silver City, NM area and Ticonderoga,
NY. Caroline is an avid tennis player, and also enjoys rowing,
playing the french horn and singing in an all women's choir in Silver City. Caroline's enthuiasm for flying finally
bit her daughter, Lydia, who just started flying lessons after seeing her Mother at the start of the 2008 ARC in Bozeman.
Caroline is excited to be part of the second Mother/Daughter (and friend) team participating in the Air Race Classic.
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Terry & Caroline at the Balancing Rock |
Lydia Baldwin, FWP Lydia lives in Fort
Collins, CO. She works as a critical care nurse and enjoys outdoor recreation in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains
and beyond. Lydia feels fortunate to have experienced frequent international air travel throughout childhood. Her introduction
to small plane flight was to an island camp in southern Africa as a teenager. Most recently Lydia has been inspired to engage
in the magic of flying by her mother. Lydia began flight instruction in July 2008 and hopes to gain her private pilot
in Spring of 2009.
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Mother and Daughter Fly High |
Lydia scopes out our 2009 Terminus in Atlantic, IA |
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Lydia and Lori Reid, our Terminus hostess |
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Lydia after a really good landing. |
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