Indiana State University aviation team members Jessica L. Campbell and Victoria Dunbar placed second over-all in the recent 2,359-nautical-mile, all-women Air Race Classic, taking the top collegiate honors. First place over-all went to Kelly Burris, an attorney from Michigan, and Erin Recke, who finished “just 0.933 ahead of us, so just one point separated first and second place,” Tad Foster, dean of ISU’s School of Technology, told the Terre Haute Tribune-Star.
The race included seven collegiate teams, two from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which was last year’s winner; two from the University of Oklahoma; and one team each from Purdue University, Kansas State University and ISU.
More than 30 teams completed the four-day race, which started June 23 and ended June 26 in Atlantic, Iowa. “There are good pilots in this, with three international pilots, so we were up against some pretty darn good ladies who know how to fly,” who flew back with Campbell and Dunbar.
Women’s air racing began in 1929, making this year’s race a celebration of 80 years of women’s racing. Early racing was initiated by The Ninety-Nines, an international organization of female pilots founded in 1929 by 99 licensed women for the mutual support and advancement of aviation. After World War II, the All Women’s Transcontinental Air Race, better known as The Powder Puff Derby, was held.
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