|
|
Tuesday, June 27, 2006 K-STATE TEAM HAS SUCCESS IN ALL-FEMALE AIR RACE CLASSIC SALINA – Three female pilots from Kansas State University at Salina competed as a team in the 30th annual Air Race Classic, the only all-women transcontinental air race. The race started in Mesa, Ariz., on June 23 and, after covering about 2,300 miles, ended in Menominee, Mich., on June 26. The K-State team was the youngest of all the 33 teams competing. Finishing 17th overall, team members said they were pleased with their performance in many aspects of the competition. “We won one of the eight race legs and came in third in two others, which is a big accomplishment,” said Marlon Johnston, head of the aviation department and faculty sponsor of the team. “We also finished fourth among first-time racers and were able to benefit from some of the newest technology in our plane.” The K-State team flew one of the university’s five Cessna 172 planes with the Garmin G-1000 glass cockpit. “There was at least one other aircraft with a glass cockpit,” Johnston said, “and our pilots even were called upon by that team to provide some tutoring on the G-1000 operations.” The K-State team included Tricia Erker, sophomore in professional pilot, and Robin Mikols, junior in professional pilot, both of Wichita; and Janelle Baron, sophomore in professional pilot, Monument, Colo. Mikols also serves as student body vice president at K-State at Salina. The race is coordinated in part by the Ninety-Nines, a women’s aviation group originally formed by 1929 by Amelia Earhart and 98 other licensed female pilots. As a result, the race attracts all ages of general aviation pilots. Teams are only allowed to fly in daylight hours and in good weather. Each team must have two licensed women pilots. Passengers are allowed and must be women pilots or student pilots. |