Embry-Riddle Selects Air Race Competitors
Sarah Woolsey and Ryan Albrecht
Issue date: 4/15/09 Section: News
The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Prescott flight department is proud to announce our first Air Race Classic team in over a decade. Congratulations to Kim Turrell and Jenna Albrecht, who will compete in the 80th running of the air race Amelia Earhart once competed in.
Turrell is a graduate of ERAU's Prescott campus. She is also a certified flight service briefer and ERAU flight instructor. Albrecht is a senior in the aeronautical science degree program. She has finished her commercial pilot certificates and is currently working on her flight instructor certificates.
The women's Air Race Classic has been a tradition among pilots since it began in 1929 with 20 competitors. This annual competition has had several names over the years; originally it was called "the Women's Air Derby."
The Air Race Classic initially started as a race in the typical sense: the first crew to the finish line wins. Over the years, it has evolved into a race that is more about strategic planning. Although the race will consist of many different types of airplanes, both single-engine and multiengine and ranging from 145 to 570 horsepower, each aircraft is given a standard groundspeed based on various factors, and the team that takes the best advantage of weather, weight, and a host of other variables to achieve the fastest groundspeed possible, wins, so all of the teams have an equal opportunity to win.
The race is 2400 miles long and this year is composed of 11 different airports. It starts Jun. 23 in Denver, Colorado, and ends Jun. 26 in Atlantic, Iowa.
The race is open to all women pilots. There are various categories that the women can compete in. The ERAU Prescott Air Race Team will compete in the collegiate aviation category against other colleges and universities. The team will be flying one of ERAU's G1000 Cessna 172s.
Hopefully this year marks the beginning of what will become a tradition for ERAU's Prescott campus. With support for the team from the whole university, this may become a yearly event. The race will be a tremendous experience for all of those involved.
Turrell is a graduate of ERAU's Prescott campus. She is also a certified flight service briefer and ERAU flight instructor. Albrecht is a senior in the aeronautical science degree program. She has finished her commercial pilot certificates and is currently working on her flight instructor certificates.
The women's Air Race Classic has been a tradition among pilots since it began in 1929 with 20 competitors. This annual competition has had several names over the years; originally it was called "the Women's Air Derby."
The Air Race Classic initially started as a race in the typical sense: the first crew to the finish line wins. Over the years, it has evolved into a race that is more about strategic planning. Although the race will consist of many different types of airplanes, both single-engine and multiengine and ranging from 145 to 570 horsepower, each aircraft is given a standard groundspeed based on various factors, and the team that takes the best advantage of weather, weight, and a host of other variables to achieve the fastest groundspeed possible, wins, so all of the teams have an equal opportunity to win.
The race is 2400 miles long and this year is composed of 11 different airports. It starts Jun. 23 in Denver, Colorado, and ends Jun. 26 in Atlantic, Iowa.
The race is open to all women pilots. There are various categories that the women can compete in. The ERAU Prescott Air Race Team will compete in the collegiate aviation category against other colleges and universities. The team will be flying one of ERAU's G1000 Cessna 172s.
Hopefully this year marks the beginning of what will become a tradition for ERAU's Prescott campus. With support for the team from the whole university, this may become a yearly event. The race will be a tremendous experience for all of those involved.
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