Forty-seven teams of women pilots flew through Bartlesville last week during the 47th Air Race Classic on June 18-21. The Bartlesville Municipal Airport was the seventh of eight stops along the 2,628-mile competition which started in Carbondale, Ill., and ended in Loveland, Colo.
“We were so honored to serve as one of the stops in this year’s Air Race Classic,” said Airport Director Mike Richardson. “We were thrilled to be able to show off our Bartlesville Municipal Airport and support each of the teams. We could not have done it without the help of our team of volunteers and the support of the Bartlesville community, as well as more than 100 spectators who came out to watch the action, meet a few of the racers and see the planes up close.”
A total of 47 planes with more than 100 team members flew through Bartlesville during the event. Some of the teams stopped only briefly for fuel and a quick break before dashing on to the next stop, but 24 teams spent the night in Bartlesville on June 20 before an early morning takeoff on June 21.
“Strategy played a big part of the race,” Richardson said. “Teams had to figure in fuel stops and how weather would factor in. Many teams were delayed by several hours at one of the stops due to weather, which also impacted when Bartlesville saw the biggest influx of teams flying in.”
Each team raced against their own time handicaps for their airplane, not against each other. Teams could only fly in daylight/VFR conditions.
Top Six Classic winners were: 1) #20 DC3-1, 2) #7 Tahoe Turbulence, 3) #16 Over the Moon!, 4) #12 Freakin Awesome, 5) #13 Helotes Hellions, and 6) #24 Southern Maine Loon-atics. The top intercollegiate winners included: 1) #52 Flying Flashes – Navy, 2) #41 The Saluki Aces, 3) #36 Boiler Up, Hangar Down, and 4) #49 Bronco Baddies.
For more information on the air race, visit www.AirRaceClassic.org.
