Registration opens Jan. 2, 2025, for the 48th Air Race Classic (ARC), which will be held June 17-20, 2025.
Women pilots from across the United States and around the world will take off Tuesday, June 17, from H. L. Sonny Callahan Airport (KCQF) in Fairhope, Alabama, for a 2,426 statute mile competition across nine states that ends Friday, June 20, at Felts Field (KSFF) in Spokane, Washington.
The Air Race Classic traces its roots to the 1929 Women’s Air Derby, also known as the Powder Puff Derby, in which Amelia Earhart and 19 other female pilots raced from Santa Monica, California, to Cleveland, Ohio.
This year’s ARC celebrates the 96th anniversary of that historic competition, which marked the beginning of women’s air racing in the United States, according to officials.
Teams will begin departing H. L. Sonny Callahan Airport at 8 a.m. June 17, taking off one after another approximately 60 seconds apart. From there, the field will spread out as faster planes move ahead or as racers use their own strategy for when to fly, officials explained. Faster planes may complete the route in only two days; slower planes may not arrive in Spokane, Washington, until moments before the arrival deadline at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 20, they noted.
Intermediate airports along the route are in Starkville, Mississippi; Harrison, Arkansas; McPherson, Kansas; Sterling, Colorado; Gillette, Wyoming; Rock Springs, Wyoming; Jerome, Idaho; and La Grande, Oregon. Teams will execute high-speed fly-bys over a timing line at each of the intermediate airports where they may also land for fuel, a break, or an overnight stay, according to officials.
Teams consisting of at least two female pilots will compete flying normally aspirated, piston-powered airplanes in visual flight conditions during daylight hours. Teams may include additional female teammates who must hold at least a student pilot certificate, officials noted.
“Because each plane receives a unique handicap, teams are racing against their own best time, not against one another,” they continued. “This creates a level playing field, so slower planes can compete against faster planes on an equal basis. Teams strategize to play the elements, holding out for better weather or seeking more favorable winds to beat their handicap by the greatest margin.”
Official standings aren’t determined until after the last team has crossed the finish line, they said, noting the last arrival may, in fact, be the winner.
For more information: AirRaceClassic.org
