By Christina Vukovich
Summer Editor
Publication Date: 06/23/08
Purdue University's Department of Aviation Technology is set to compete in the 32nd annual all-female Air Race Classic.
The Air Race Classic, which is the longest-running all-female airplane race in the world, will begin Tuesday in Bozeman, Mont., and conclude Friday in Mansfield, Mass. The eight-leg race will also make stops in Miles City, Mont.; Aberdeen, S.D.; Mason City, Iowa; Decatur, Ill.; Frankfort, Ky.; Franklin, Pa. and Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Purdue Air Race Team will be one of 36 teams and one of three collegiate teams competing in the Classic. The entire race will cover about 2,009 nautical miles.
Marie Janus, a senior in the College of Technology studying aviation technology, will serve as the Purdue Air Race Team captain and co-pilot. Janus, who has been involved in the Purdue Air Race Team for four years, was a co-pilot on last year's team, which placed first amongst collegiate teams and fourth overall. Last year's team also won Fastest Flying Piper award and the Hold-over award, which was given to Purdue for taking a first-place finish in the collegiate category two years in a row.
Purdue has taken the collegiate title three times since the collegiate category began in 2003.
Juliana Lindner, a sophomore in the College of Technology also studying aviation technology, will accompany Janus in the plane, and 11 Boilermakers will man the Purdue Air Race Team ground crew this year.
Though the race concludes on Friday, the winner won't be announced until June 29, and the winning team will not necessarily fly the plane that finishes first.
The competition calls for each team to fly a stock plane with no modifications. The aircrafts are then given a handicap based on their predetermined average cruise speed.
Using the handicap system, the teams are evaluated and rated based on their efficiency and accuracy throughout every stage of the competition.
Purdue's Air Race Team, which will be flying a Piper Warrior, has been awarded a 106-knot handicap, one of the slowest handicaps assessed in this year's competition.
Janus said the team will do well if there is a strong tailwind since Purdue's plane is so light, but a strong headwind would be the most unfavorable condition for the plane.
"We're always hoping to do well," Janus said. "But a lot of it is luck."
Purdue teams have been competing in the Air Race Classic for the past 14 years, and in 1996 the Purdue Air Race Team became the first collegiate team to finish first overall.
Purdue will begin its quest for a fourth collegiate title and second overall title Tuesday in Bozeman, Mont.