42nd Annual Air Race

Posted By: Pierce Georlett

pgeorlett@klkntv.com

119 women pilots made the pit stop in Beatrice today on their journey half way around the country.

The 42nd annual Air Race Classic is an all woman’s air race with 55 teams which spans more than 2,500 miles all across the United States. 

"So this is the woman’s air race classic an all women’s cross country air race, we started in Sweetwater, Texas, and we’ll end up in Fryeburg, Maine," said racer McKenzie Krutsinger. 

These women fly from town to town in honor of the women’s air force service pilots who flew planes across the country during World War Two.

But now with only 7% of the airline pilots being women this has taken on a new role for some of these competitors.

"We want more young women to get in aviation the industry is such a good industry to get into and there are so many opportunities for women especially in the airlines so that’s what I’m here trying to promote," added Krutsinger. 

But for some of these pilots like Tessa Roberts on team Sky Vixens it’s just another way to promote being a pilot.

"I would definitely want to encourage the youth whether it’s females or males to learn to fly it’s beautiful it’s magical and it’s the most incredible experience to be a pilot," said Roberts. 

Now in order to register their time for the race, they have to fly the plane close to the ground.

"To do that fly by at 200 ft, you come in and you’re flying really low and fast pick the best altitude for your airplane do your fly by at 200 ft come around and breathe a sign of relief," said racer Debbie Dreyfuss. 

So now the next step after Beatrice for these pilots is Faribault, Minnesota, and then 6 more stops after that. These pilots have no clue on when this race is going to be officially over because the whole race depends on the weather throughout