News/Press Releases
Reflections On The 2019 Race
Birds of a Feather by Karen Atkins
This week would have been RACE WEEK 2020! - Racers would have gathered in Grand Forks, North Dakota late last week for inspections, briefings, and pre-race bonding. On Tuesday of this week, they would have hopped into their planes to make their way southeast, by way of several race stops along the way, to the terminus of the race at Terre Haute, Indiana.
Birds of a Feather – Part I
By Karen Atkins
The final leg of the race was bittersweet; a mix of beautiful scenery and wistful anticipation of the end of the 2019 Air Race Classic. Greeted by crisp morning air and azure skies, we flew over Canadian terrain made emerald velvet by generous spring rains. Though the race was ending, a culmination of many months of planning and collaboration, the majesty of our view only accentuated our appreciation for the beginning of friendships that had grown strong wings.
Social media can be a wonderful thing, and the aviation community is tight-knit. I've found some delightful friends online, many of whom I've never met face-to-face but who share my affinity for all things flying-related.
Two years ago, when Kimberly reached out to ask if I'd ever heard of the iconic Air Race Classic, I was interested in knowing more. Not necessarily to race in it…but in knowing more. I knew of Kimberly through Facebook aviation groups. She was my age, with similar airplane experience and a shared passion for aviation. Having initially started her logbook over 30 years ago, life then took over, and only in the past five years has she completed her private pilot training to earn her license. Since then, she has blitzed through the ratings – instrument, multi-engine, commercial, and CFI (Certificated Flight Instructor). This girl is on fire!
Kimberly was looking for a good match to participate with her in the 2018 Air Race Classic, the epicenter of all-female air racing. Race teams compete in a 2,500-statute mile cross-country journey, with low pass flybys at 8-9 timing points, and are given four days to complete the race, typically held in June, flying only by visual flight rules (VFR) during daytime hours. Quite the challenge! Working in the corporate world, with June being our fiscal year-end, I simply couldn't devote time to this endeavor, as exciting as the prospect sounded. Kimberly didn't find the right fit for the race that year, but our online friendship sprouted and blossomed.
Donna first came into my aviation life when she was struggling to earn her pilot license. Reading of her challenges in an aviation forum, I reached out to empathize, provide a sounding board, and simply share cockpit experiences with her. We quickly realized we were soul sisters! After many long online messages, we graduated to the occasional chat over the phone, talking about various flying (and life!) experiences. When Donna was in the market for a plane, we had many discussions on the attributes of the Cessna 182 that I fly, and she ended up securing a very beautiful new model, with a tail number that includes her initials and the date of her first solo flight. Donna initially learned to fly as a challenge to herself, given that it was something she was a little fearful of, but today, she is an incredible aviatrix and routinely flies herself from northern Michigan to South Carolina and back, taking care of a business and family. She recently earned her instrument rating and is working on her commercial rating.
Me? I learned to fly just five years ago at the very busy DeKalb-Peachtree Airport (KPDK) in Atlanta, earning first my pilot license and my instrument rating shortly thereafter. When the aviation bug bit me, it bit HARD. I purchased my airplane — a 1978 Cessna 182Q — four months before I took my private pilot checkride, so I was totally committed to my aviation addiction! When I finally slid into the pilot seat of my beloved bird, it felt like she had been waiting for me all my life. For me, the joy of flight is like no other, and I am enthusiastically effusive about my aviation adventures.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, Kimberly had also messaged Donna about flying in the 2018 Air Race Classic, but the prospect just didn't work out for any of us. It wasn't a no…but a "maybe; perhaps; someday" and a twinkle in the eye. Fast forward 12 months, and the race for Kimberly to find a team was on again. It's incredible how fast life changes. In the year that had passed, I had embraced early retirement from the corporate world, ready for a new challenge; Donna was settled in at her business and working diligently on her instrument rating; Kimberly had just become a flight instructor. After a flurry of group messages, we realized we could be an incredible three-person team. In a surge of enthusiasm, we decided to go for it. We needed to complete dozens of pre-race tasks and figure out whose plane to fly. But wait — wouldn't it be a good idea to actually meet each other face-to-face first?!
Our first meeting was on a cold, blustery December day, with Kimberly flying east from her home base in Alabama to pick me up in Atlanta, then continuing to South Carolina to meet up with Donna. From the moment we touched down at the Summerville airport, it was as if we had known one another all our lives. Had we known one another 20 years or only 20 seconds?
The first order of business, after initial hugs and wide grins, was to review the Air Race Classic rules and procedures. The race, part of a tradition of women's airplane racing going back 90 years, has hundreds of seasoned race veterans, "mama birds" who mentor newcomers, board members, and volunteers who had lived and breathed this event for decades — but this was our first time. What we didn't know would fill volumes, but we were determined to figure it out — after all, we were PILOTS! After 24 hours, our plan was set in motion. Together, we would embrace this challenge as the next milestone in our aviation journeys. With just a few short months until the race commenced, we were on our way to adventure.
As we learned more about one another and the race, there were lots of questions, laughs, shrugs, giggles, and serious moments, but our goals were simple: to be safe…to finish…and, most importantly, to remain friends, as there was no doubt we were indeed birds of a feather.
Featured Sponsors
