by Minnetta Gardinier
Fly the perfect daytime, VFR cross country next summer – 2,365 nautical miles, 10 stops, 4 days. You will launch from Iowa City Municipal Airport (IOW) at 0800 on Tuesday, June 21st and complete your adventure after landing at Mobile Downtown (BFM) by 1700 on Friday, June 24th. Between Iowa and Alabama, you will land in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. At each “stop,” you’ll fly an exciting, low-altitude, high-speed timing line for “fly-by to land” or “fly-by to continue.” You’ll make the flight with 80-100 new friends – all women pilots with the same sense of adventure, competition, and history.
The Air Race Classic
The Air Race Classic is now the longest running all-women pilots transcontinental air race, and evolved out of the original Women’s National Air Derby of 1929. Humorist Will Rogers dubbed it the Powder Puff Derby, a nickname that stuck through the decades long after he caught a racer powdering her nose before she climbed into the cockpit of her plane. In 1948, the race became the All Woman Transcontinental Air Race (AWTAR) with ties to The Ninety-Nines, the International Organization of Women Pilots. Next year, we welcome the start of the 35th annual Air Race Classic in Iowa City, Iowa with the theme “Celebrating ARC Heroes & History.”
The Route
Each year the route changes with opportunities for a number of airports to host the start and terminus events, as well as to host racers at the stops along the way. Each route is at least 2100 nautical miles with stops every 280-320 miles. Around June 17th, racers will begin converging on Iowa City Municipal Airport, the oldest municipal airport west of the Mississippi operating in its original location. The race teams will launch from IOW early on Tuesday morning and fly north and west up to the Rocky Mountains: Brookings, SD; Jamestown, ND; Spearfish, SD; and Rawlins, WY. At each airport, racers must fly the timing line according to a precise pattern at top speed that is only 200-300 feet AGL, parallel to a specified runway.
After Rawlins, they will fly east and south to complete five more timing lines at Alliance, NE; Great Bend, KS; Borger, TX; Norman, OK; and El Dorado, AR. Compared to other routes, this one is the longest. It must be flown only in VFR conditions during daytime hours. VFR and airspace rules must be adhered to along the way. Weather and mechanical issues will play key roles that determine if racers land in Mobile, AL (BFM) by the 5 pm deadline on Friday, June 24th. Hopefully, all racers will celebrate their accomplishment on that evening in Mobile. Of our 50 states, racers will fly over 13 of them by the time they land at the terminus!
The Racers
While the route provides physical challenges for each race team, the pilots that choose to race and come together each year create the personality and spirit for each race. Each race is unique, both for its route and its pilots. These women come from all corners of the United States to join in this adventure. The pilot for each team must have 500 hours PIC or hold a current instrument rating. Each team must also have a copilot with a Private Pilot Certificate. A few teams may carry a crewmember, who must hold at least a current Student Pilot Certificate.
For me, the real highlight of each race over the past three years has been meeting and getting to know some of the stories behind each racer. In Bozeman, MT, my copilot was an architect from New Hampshire, and we were both racing for the first time in 2008. We met 90-year-old Ruby Sheldon, the first helicopter instrument-rated instructor with flying experiences from the Panama Canal to the Arctic Ocean, and 87-year-old Margaret Ringenburg, a WWII WASP. Their teams came in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively that year. In recent years, one-third to one-half of our pilots have been new racers, intrigued by the experience. Last year, we had nine collegiate teams from among 50-plus teams. Other women were taking time off from their jobs as air traffic controllers, airline pilots, artists, consultants, educators, engineers, FAA safety officers, fixed base operators, homemakers, lawyers, nurses, physicians, realtors, researchers, small business owners, and veterinarians (to name a few). They all have great hangar stories to share, along with the paths that led them to take to the skies. It’s impossible not to let your mind wander back to the fact that our lineage stretches back to 20 women who competed in the 1929 race from Santa Monica, CA to Cleveland, OH. Through the decades, all of these women pursued their passion for aviation.
The Race
Aside from the sheer length of the race route, each route is designed to ensure that racers are exposed to different airspaces and airport environments – e.g., military operations, restricted airspace, and towered and non-towered airports. Weather conditions can vary greatly along the route, and decisions must be made to ensure that you remain VFR. What are the best times to fly each day based on clouds, humidity, precipitation, temperatures, and/or winds? What altitude? Can you catch a good tailwind? How well can you manage your fuel? Can you minimize your weight in the aircraft and maximize the efficiency of the team’s effort inside and outside the cockpit? For some teams, it’s all about the competition. For other teams, it’s all about the experience. Either way, you cannot fly this race without learning more about your own skills as a pilot, your plane, and flying a great cross country route.
The Celebration
No matter what transpires over the four days of the race, you should celebrate at the terminus. More likely than not, you will have experienced some unexpected setback along the course – a mechanical issue, a bungled fly-by, low ceilings, or headwinds. Or you may simply have the flight of your life! But know that you have accomplished something that few pilots have ever reached for, and revel in it. Some will simply do this once, and others will return again each year as though it was summer camp. For all of these pilots, they have a moment at the race terminus when they stop to reflect on the route and the racers around them. Savor the moment and save the memories. Celebrate that you took the challenge and put together your best cross-country effort.
If Not Now, When?
When I first heard about the Air Race Classic in 2008, I was intrigued, but I immediately set aside the advertisement thinking that I was not prepared to reach for this yet. I had my instrument rating, but I had only been flying for four years. Surely, these racers were more experienced than I was. As my curiosity drew me back to the race route map, I realized that each leg was only about a 2.5 to 3-hour flight, and that it was simply a string of “short” cross country flights. Knowing this made it seem very doable. Finally, I asked myself, “If not now, when?” For me, I approached it as a learning experience rather than a competition. I wanted to have fun and to simply complete the route. I have flown three races now, and look forward to my “Fly Camp” experiences. Please join me in Iowa City in June 2011. If not then, when?
For additional information email m.gardinier@gmail.com, or refer to www.airraceclassic.org or www.iowa99s.org.
