Pilot and SIUE Alumnus Anni Huang is taking flight in the 2021 Air Race Classic Air Derby, a flying competition celebrating women in aviation.
The Air Race Classic Inc. is a nonprofit that hosts a yearly race event to celebrate women in aviation. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the usual race was canceled, and replaced with an Air Derby event where contestants create their own route based on the competition guidelines and compete against their own estimates of the time to complete the route.
"The Air Race is deeply rooted in the history of women's air races in general. It is conducted annually and during non-[COVID 19] times the racers raced through a series of routes across the country. Because of [COVID-19], this is being run more like a virtual 5K," co-pilot Heidi Kim said.