| VIDEO |
 * Two Purdue student pilots take on a field of experienced women pilots in the 2009 Air Race Classic. (2 minutes, 5 seconds) |
June 16, 2009
Purdue team to compete June 23-26 in women's Air Race Classic
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - |
Juliana Lindner, a senior from Hanover Park, Ill., is captain of the team, and Lauren Steele, a junior from Lapel, Ind., is co-pilot. Lindner, also majoring in management, was co-pilot of the team last year.
This year's race will begin in Denver, Colo., and continue to Liberal, Kan.; Sweetwater, Texas; Lufkin, Texas; Russellville, Ark.; Grenada, Miss.; Sparta, Tenn.; Jacksonville, Ill.; Racine, Wis.; and will finish in Atlantic, Iowa. The total distance covered will be 2,359 nautical miles (2,715 statute miles).
Purdue's team will be among 34 competing and among seven collegiate teams.
Purdue teams have competed in the Air Race Classic since 1994. Last year, the team placed third among college teams and 16th overall.
The ground crew consists of students David Ferrel (ground crew coordinator), a senior majoring professional flight technology from Frankfort, Ind; Brent Sloan, a junior majoring in professional flight technology from Toledo, Ohio; David Golladay, a sophomore majoring in professional flight technology from Lebanon, Ind.; Kaitlin Mroz, a junior majoring in professional flight technology from Avon, Ind.; Katrina Dembinski, a sophomore majoring in professional flight technology from Chicago; Chris McCracken, a senior majoring in professional flight technology from Boston; Erin Cournoyer, a senior majoring in professional flight technology from Rochester, N.Y.; and Pascal Nguyen, a professional flight technology alumnus from Elkhart, Ind.
Each Air Race Classic team flies a stock aircraft with no modifications. The teams are then assigned a handicap based on their airplane's predetermined average cruise speed.
Teams in the Air Race Classic win based on the efficiency and accuracy they exhibit in every aspect of the race. A team is rated based on its performance compared to its airplane's handicap.
Because of the nature of the scoring, it is impossible to gauge a team's performance in relation to other teams until the competition is over. It is even possible that the team that completes the course last could actually win based on the expected performance of its plane.
The Air Race Classic is the longest-running all-female airplane race in the world. Its roots date back more than 70 years when the Women's Air Derby brought pilots such as Amelia Earhart, Bobbi Trout and Ruth Elder to an air race from Santa Monica, Calif., to Cleveland.
Additional information about the Purdue Air Race Team can be found online at https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~airrace1/ and at https://www.airraceclassic.org/
Writer: Kim Medaris, 765-494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu
Sources: Juliana Lindner, 630-699-2505, jmlindne@purdue.edu
Lauren Steele, steelel@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to journalists: Broadcast-quality video and sound bites are available. For more information, contact Jim Schenke, Purdue Media Relations, 765-494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu.
PHOTO CAPTION
Juliana Lindner, captain of the Purdue Air Race Classic team, prepares for takeoff Tuesday (June 16) at the Purdue Airport. Lindner, a senior in professional flight technology and management from Hanover Park, Ill., and her co-pilot Lauren Steele, a junior from Lapel, Ind., are competing in the June 23-26 all-women's, cross-country air race. This year's race will begin in Denver and cover 2,359 nautical miles before finishing in Atlantic, Iowa. (Purdue University photo/Andrew Hancock)
A publication-quality photo is available at: https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2009/air-race-classic.jpg
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