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PALM BEACH GARDENS — Palm Beach Gardens resident Anita Mixon had a thriller of a 2,716-mile airplane race from Prescott, Ariz., to Daytona Beach last week.

Before the Air Race Classic even began, a microburst broke the tie-downs and rearranged the planes at the airport in Prescott. All were re-inspected and deemed air-worthy. And flying over mountains was "quite an experience," too, for Mixon, who's used to Florida's flat terrain.

Mixon and race partner Jan Squillace, of Cary, N.C., finished 32 out of 55, including 10 teams that couldn't finish the race primarily because of mechanical issues.

"It was fun. It was beautiful," Mixon said. "We were just happy to finish without anything mechanical happening or any problems at all."

The race for female pilots has its roots in the 1929 "Powder Puff Derby," in which Amelia Earhart and other female pilots flew from Santa Monica, Calif., to Cleveland.

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Anita Mixon and racing partner Jan Squillace fly in Squillace's Diamond DA40 during the Air Race Classic from Prescott, Arizona, to Daytona Beach, Florida, June 21 to 24. The race is for female pilots. Photo courtesy of Anita Mixon

Mixon and a group of about 10 other pilots lucked out when they wandered into town in Americus, Ga., for a bite to eat at the last stop before Daytona. They were seated in the Lindbergh Private Dining Room named after the famous pilot who took his first solo flight there.

"That was kind of a great memory that we'll all have," she said. "It's just a really old, beautiful hotel."

The race had its grueling moments. The pilots lost two hours the first day when they traveled across multiple time zones. Mixon and Squillace woke up early enough to be in the air by about 6:30 a.m. every day. The air was hot and Squillace's Diamond DA40 has no air conditioning.

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A group of pilots from the Air Race Classic, which began in Prescott, Arizona, and ended in Daytona Beach, stopped for a meal in Americus, Georgia, and ended up having dinner in the Lindbergh Private Dining Room at the Best Western Plus Windsor Hotel. Famed pilot Charles Lindbergh completed his first solo flight in Americus. Photo courtesy of Anita Mixon

"In the summertime, you're best off flying in the morning. The air is not so hot and you get better lift on the airplane," Squillace said. "If you're flying low, you're sweating a lot."

The women didn't escape the race without penalties, but few teams did, Mixon said. One of the penalties was for not having the wings level on a flyby of the timing line and two were for flying too low on flybys. Conditions were hot and bumpy, making it difficult to maintain a perfect altitude, Mixon said.

The plane "performed beautifully" through it all, Squillace said.

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Palm Beach Gardens resident Anita Mixon (left) and Jan Squillace, of Cary, North Carolina, completed the cross country Air Race Classic in Squillace's Diamond DA40 from June 21 to 24. The airplane race for female pilots ended in Daytona Beach. Photo courtesy of Anita Mixon

"Diamonds are a girl's best friend, even when they're airplanes," Squillace said, playing off the name of manufacturer.