Students to represent Purdue
in airplane race
By Jenny Jones
Summer
Reporter
She was eight years old when she first experienced
what she calls peace.
Sarah Dittman, a senior in the School of Aviation,
boarded her grandfather's small four-passenger single engine airplane
every summer.
Traveling from Greenwood, Ind., to her grandparents
cabin in Northern Wisconsin, Dittman remembers putting on her small
headset and looking out the window of the aircraft.
"It's almost like a dream as a little kid," Dittman
said.
Dittman will be one of two women representing Purdue
in the Women's Air Race Classic June 26.
Although she was frequently a passenger as a child,
Dittman said she did not become serious about flying until she arrived
at Purdue and was accepted into the aviation program.
Through the program Dittman first earned her private
pilot certificate and last summer she received her flight instructor
certificate.
This summer Dittman will serve as pilot-in-command
for the air race.
"It's the one time you have absolute control of
everything that happens with what you're doing," Dittman said. "You
have complete control of the plane."
As pilot-in-command, Dittman will have control
of the flight throughout the race, along with co-pilot Ashley Cavert,
a junior in the School of Aviation.
"It's an honor to be a part of it," said Cavert.
"We're out there to win."
During this year's Women's Air Race Classic, Dittman
and Cavert will be flying from San Diego to Cincinnati over a three-day
period, stopping at the seven legs included in the race.
At each leg the women will be awarded a pedant
of their placing throughout the race.
"I think (Dittman and Cavert) are a good combination,"
said John Young, associate professor of aviation technology. "I think
they'll be competitive."
If the women arrive in Cincinnati as one of the
top 10 teams they will also be awarded a cash prize.
The women began preparing for the race in November
by sending out applications for funding for the race, ordering numbers
to put on the plane, washing and waxing the plane and making hotel reservations
for along the way.
This year the women will be traveling in a different
plane than the one usually used because Purdue sold its former fleet
of planes.
The plane being raced this year is similar to the
plane used in previous years. It is a four-passenger single engine plane,
but it is a more high-performance aircraft, Dittman said.
"It's nothing to worry about, just a change from
the norm," Dittman said.
The women will be packing light for the trip, the
only luggage Dittman said they will carry on the plane with them is
a bag filled with memorabilia of former race participant Julie Swengle.
Swengle was killed in a plane crash during the
1997 school year.
Included in the bag will be photos of Swengle and
her family, cards she received before the race and bright lipsticks
she was known for wearing.
Dittman said she and Cavert will also be wearing
shirts with Swengle's initials embroidered on the back left shoulder.
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