The 49th Air Race Classic began Tuesday from St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton, Illinois. Forty-six teams entered to race across a route of about 2,400 nautical miles before finishing Friday at Mt. Vernon Outland Airport.
The all-women race includes 106 pilots from 28 states and will make several stops, including at Frankfort, Kentucky; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Douglas, Georgia; Tanner, Alabama; McComb, Mississippi; Russellville, Arkansas; St. Joseph, Missouri; and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
“The strategy is to fly a clean race and a safe race as fast as we can,” St. Louis team member Jocelyn Ciotti told local news, The Telegraph. “This is our first time taking part in this contest, and we are super excited.”
Air Race Classic teams launch 30 seconds apart and must complete the race during daylight hours. Each aircraft is assigned a handicap speed, and scoring compares its actual ground speed against that number. Race flybys also require crews to maintain assigned altitude, speed and heading.
Among the collegiate entries at the Air Race Classic are 23 teams representing 16 universities.
The ARC traces its roots to the 1929 Women’s Air Derby, which included Amelia Earhart, and the organization says the modern race continues the women’s cross-country racing tradition that resumed after World War II as the Powder Puff Derby.
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