2014 Air Race Classic will land in Pinedale in June
Women pilots in a 4-day, 2400 miles coast to coast air race
by Pinedale Online!
March 19, 2014
The 38th Annual Air Race Classic will take place June 16-19, 2014. The race is for women pilots only. The race route is approximately 2,400 statute miles in length traversing from coast to coast across the United States. Contestants have four days to reach the terminus. The 2014 race will start in Concord, California, go to Oregon and Nevada, do a fly-by at the Big Piney airport and land at Ralph Wenz Field in Pinedale. From Wyoming they go to Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, and ultimately end in Pennsylvania.
The Air Race Classic traces its roots to the 1929 Women's Air Derby in which Amelia Earhart and 19 other daring female pilots flew from Santa Monica, California to Cleveland, Ohio. That contest marked the beginning of women's air racing in the United States.
Today the Air Race Classic is the epicenter of women’s air racing. Pilots range in age from 17 to 90 years and come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Race teams, consisting of at least two women pilots, must fly Visual Flight Rules (VFR) during daylight hours only and are given four days to make flybys at each en route timing point and then land at the terminus. The legs are 280 to 320 statute miles, and seven or eight control stops are designated for either landing or fly-by.
The race routes change each year and are about 2,400 statute miles in length. Each plane is flown in race configuration to determine its handicap speed – and the challenge for each race team is to achieve actual ground speeds as far over the handicap speed as possible.
The pilots strategize to play the elements, holding out for better weather, winds, etc. The official standings are not known until the final entrant has crossed the finish line. Indeed, the last arrival at the terminus can be the winner.
Entrant aircrafts are stock or minimally modified airplanes, certified in normal or utility category with normally aspirated engines of not less than 100 horsepower nor more than 600 horsepower, rated for continuous maximum operation and handicapped accordingly.
Prizes for the Air Race Classic are valued at over $16,500 and include medallions, trophies and cash awards.
As of an update on March 19th, 49 teams with 109 pilots, co-pilots, and crew are registered and getting ready for the race. Only six more teams can enter for this year’s race.
Click here for more info on the race: http://www.airraceclassic.org/2014race.asp
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