More than 100 women pilots took off on the adventure of a lifetime when the flag dropped at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport, Tuesday.
The event marked the start of the 43rd annual Air Race Classic (ARC), the oldest airplane race of its kind in the United States.
According to a press release, 49 small airplanes launched full throttle, 30 seconds apart, down the runway at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport in Jackson.
From there, they embarkED on a course that will take them 2,538 miles to Welland, Ontario, in just four days.
Teams will face unfamiliar terrain and challenging weather as they put their piloting skills to the test, flying at maximum speed across nine states and two countries, from the delta of Tennessee through the American heartland to the Welland lakeways and canal connecting Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
At each stop along the way, they will execute a high-speed low pass across a timing line, racing to reach the Terminus, Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport located in Welland, Ontario, by the arrival deadline at 5 p.m., Friday.
The nine intermediate stops are
LAGRANGE, GA (KLGC) LaGrange-Callaway Airport
HATTIESBURG, MS (KHBG) Hattiesburg Bobby L. Chain Municipal
BRYANT, AR (KSUZ) Saline County Regional Airport
LEE’S SUMMIT, MO (KLXT) Lee’s Summit Municipal
FAIRMONT, MN (KFRM) Fairmont Municipal
WAUSAU, WI (KAUW) Wausau Downtown Airport
SAULT STE. MARIE, MI (KCIU, FLYBY ONLY) AND SAULT STE. MARIE, ON (CYAM, STOP) Chippewa County International Airportand Sault Ste. Marie Airport
NORTH BAY, ON (CYYB) North Bay Jack Garland Airport
BRANTFORD, ON (CYFD) Brantford Municipal Airport
(PHOTO: Airplanes at McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport – courtesy Susan Davie-Cogdell, NEWS/TALK 101.5 FM)
David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
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