Women in Aviation International (WAI) extends best wishes to the 71 teams of women pilots competing in this year’s Air Race Classic. The 40th annual Air Race Classic begins and ends at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – beginning at the Prescott, Arizona, campus on June 21, 2016, and ending on June 24, 2016, at the Daytona Beach campus. The race course extends across 12 states and 2,716 miles, with women from all walks of life, from ages 17 to 90, racing this year.
“My best advice for the race teams is to fly safe and have fun,” says WAI President Dr. Peggy Chabrian. “We’ll be following all the teams with interest.”
The Air Race Classic has its roots in the 1929 Women’s Air Derby in which 19 women pilots raced from Santa Monica, California, to Cleveland, Ohio. Also known as the Powder Puff Derby, the 1929 race had as its participants noted pilots such as Phoebe Omlie, Amelia Earhart, Louise Thaden and Bobbi Trout, all of whom have been inducted into WAI’s International Pioneer Hall of Fame.
As for who will win this year’s Air Race Classic, Dr. Chabrian has studied the roster of race teams and has a prediction. She says, “I predict that the winner of this year’s Air Race Classic will be a dedicated, proficient team of amazing women pilots.” Women in Aviation International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing networking, mentoring and scholarship opportunities for women and men who are striving for challenging and fulfilling careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. For more information about WAI, please contact WAI at (937) 839-4647 or online at wai.org.
