121 Women Pilots Set to Compete in 42nd Annual Air Race Classic

April 6, 2018
56 teams will fly across the country this June in historic airplane race.

April 5, 2018 – The field is set for the 42nd Air Race Classic (ARC), the annual all-women cross-country airplane race. Fifty-six teams, consisting of 121 women pilots from across the country and around the world, will take off at 8 a.m. Tuesday, June 19 from Sweetwater, Texas, for a 2,656-mile sprint across the United States that ends Friday, June 22 in Fryeburg, Maine.

This year, the ARC counts an aviation celebrity among the racers: U.S. national aerobatics champion Debby Rihn-Harvey.

The oldest race of its kind in the nation, the Air Race Classic traces its roots to the 1929 Women's Air Derby, in which Amelia Earhart and 19 other daring female pilots raced from Santa Monica, California, to Cleveland, Ohio. That contest, aka the Powder Puff Derby, marked the beginning of women's air racing in the United States. Today, the ARC is the epicenter of women's air racing, the ultimate test of piloting skill and aviation decision-making for female pilots of all ages and from all walks of life.

“The ARC Board of Directors and volunteers have been hard at work preparing for our 42nd race,” said Air Race Classic President Lara Gaerte. “We look forward to welcoming back veteran racers and meeting new competitors at this year’s Start.”

This year's course will take racers through 15 states, from the West Texas flatlands, where the Women Airforce Service Pilots trained for military service during World War II, through the American heartland to the pine forests of Maine. Teams will depart beginning at 8 a.m. June 19 from historic Avenger Field, taking off one after another, 30 seconds apart. From there, the field will spread out as faster planes move to the head of the pack.

At each of the eight intermediate stops — Alva, Oklahoma; Beatrice, Nebraska; Faribault, Minnesota; Galesburg, Illinois; Auburn, Indiana; Cadillac, Michigan; Newark, Ohio; and Penn Yan, New York — teams will execute high-speed flybys over a timing line as they race against the clock. Faster planes may cover the course in only two days; slower teams may not arrive at the Terminus, Eastern Slopes Regional Airport, until moments before the arrival deadline at 5 p.m. on June 22.

The 56 teams of two or three pilots will have four days to complete the course, flying normally aspirated, piston-powered airplanes in visual flight conditions during daylight hours. Pilots and copilots must have at least a Private pilot certificate and a minimum of 100 hours as pilot-in-command in order to qualify for the race; one of them must have at least 500 hours as pilot-in-command or a current instrument rating. If they wish, the pilot and copilot may bring along a teammate, who must hold at least a student pilot certificate.

Eighteen colleges or universities are fielding teams: Auburn University, California Aeronautical University, Delaware State University, École Nationale d’Aérotechnique (Quebec), Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott, Indiana State University, Jacksonville University, Kent State University, Lewis University, Liberty University  Middle Tennessee State University, Purdue University, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, The Ohio State University, University of Dubuque, University of North Dakota and Western Michigan University. CAU, Delaware State, ENA and Dubuque are participating for the first time.

This year’s racers hail from 35 states and five foreign countries: Australia, Canada, Colombia, Kenya and New Zealand.

For some competitors, the Air Race Classic is a family affair. This year's field includes two multi-generational teams, with mothers and daughters racing together.

Because each plane receives a unique handicap, teams are racing against their own best time, not against one another. This creates a level playing field, so slower planes can compete against faster aircraft on an equal basis. Teams strategize to play the elements, holding out for better weather or seeking more favorable winds, to beat their handicap by the greatest margin.

Official standings aren't determined until after the last team has crossed the finish line – the last arrival at the Terminus may, in fact, be the winner!

Air Race Classic Inc. is an all-volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with a mission of encouraging and educating current and future female pilots, increasing public awareness of general aviation, demonstrating women's roles in aviation, and preserving and promoting the tradition of pioneering women in aviation. For more information, go to airraceclassic.org. Follow Air Race Classic on Facebook. On Twitter: @AuthenticARC