News/Press Releases

Several Waynoka Airport Commission members participated as timers in the 2019 women's Air Race Classic, an annual transcontinental air race that spans four days, many states, and thousands of miles. In this year's race, 52 teams of two or three pilots started in Sweetwater, Texas, on Tuesday, June 19. Alva, Oklahoma, was the first of nine scheduled stops.

WAC members Sue Hughes, Ray and Karen Hull, and Scott Schwerdtfeger assisted the effort as part of the timing team, and Dale Hughes helped with directing airplane traffic on the ground. They were just part of a massive effort involving dozens of volunteer and months of planning.

As each race team approached Alva airport, they flew parallel to the runway, speeding past a pole designated as a "flyby" point, where timers recorded their time. After the flyby, racers chose to continue to the next stop (Beatrice, Nebraska) without landing, or to stop in Alva to refuel.

Head Timer Sue Hughes and volunteer timers from Waynoka and Alva record times at Alva Airport, the first stop in the 2018 women's Air Race Classic. (Photo by Tricia Coday)

After stopping in Alva, racers flew past the flyby pole a second time to restart the clock before continuing to their next stop. Only the time airborne between flybys counts in the race, which is handicapped according to each airplane's maximum airspeed.

The 37 race teams who decided to refuel in Alva were treated to a warm welcome with a free catered lunch and goody bag. Bleachers set up for the occasion filled with curious onlookers cheering the racers on. Among them was Terry Soloman of Waynoka. "I even got to meet a few of them. They were fantastic," he said.

While Alva appreciated the racers, the feeling was mutual according to feedback gathered at the race terminus in Fryeburg, Maine, last weekend. Route Division ARC Director, Theresa White, reported it was "very heartwarming to see those bleachers full of people and the fire fighters and other city personnel there to greet us." She also lauded Alva volunteers for providing racers with "great food and gifts, and an efficient fueling process."

All 52 race teams flew their single-engine planes through Alva within 7 hours last Tuesday under blue skies with few clouds and light wind. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was not so cooperative along the rest of the route. While all racers reached the second stop in Beatrice, weather forced the cancellation of the following five stops.

"As we were stuck in MN until Thursday afternoon …we received the news 'all racers proceed to Penn Yann, NY, to fly the final leg,'" posted Susan Larson, a veteran racer from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

While weather deviations and cancellations are commonplace for pilots, this year's race brought unprecedented challenges. ARC Director White, who also raced this year, explained, "We racers spent many hours staring at our devices looking at radar and satellite images, forecasts, prog and constant pressure charts, and every other type of weather information we could get. But no matter how hard we stared at it, we couldn't make it change. For racers, it was definitely a
learning experience and challenged our aeronautical decision-making processes."

White summed it up, "We are grateful everyone landed safety, either at the Terminus or at their respective homes, but we're disappointed we couldn't fly to all the Stops to meet the volunteers we worked with for so long."

Despite this year's problems, dubbed "Hurricane ARC", White remained grateful and appreciative. "For me," she said, "it's the people that make the difference. I love my job working with the volunteers at the Stops each year."

Planning for the 2019 race begins immediately—with a new Start and Terminus, and all new stops in between — preserving a tradition of women's air racing that started in 1929 with Amelia Earhart as one of 20 competitors.