Winging It: Ohio State Graduate Completes Air Race Classic
By Katelyn Vitek
Waiting out a thunderstorm and enduring the occasional frustrated pilot, Meredith Frederick and Jann Bowne completed an amazing journey this summer as they flew the 2010 Air Race Classic.
Frederick, who graduated this past spring with a degree in aviation engineering, wanted to earn her commercial license but needed a way to log flight hours. Aviation lecturer Robyn Litvay told Frederick about air racing and soon Frederick found herself registered with Bowne, a fellow member of the Scioto Valley Ninety-Nine’s, an organization for women pilots, for the 2010 Air Race Classic.
The Air Race Classic is a 2,000-nautical-mile race with both competition and exhibition classes. With over 50 racers, Frederick and Bowne took off from Fort Myers, Fla., in Bowne’s Cessna 182 Skylane and ended the race in Frederick, Md., with stops in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and West Virginia. The racers have four days to complete the journey, and all flying had to be done in daytime Visual Flight Rules (VFR) conditions, which stipulate that the pilot must be able to easily see outside the cockpit to avoid any obstacles and other aircraft.
While Frederick and Bowne were registered as exhibition-competitors, all racers had to follow standard rules that required pilots to execute fly-by maneuvers at various checkpoints in order to log race times as well as attend all briefings to ensure maximum safety during the race.
“The timers were on the ground, and pilots needed to execute a low-altitude, full-throttle pass at a specified point to record the time. After that, planes needed to circle to land. To complicate matters, a plane was never arriving at an airport alone; there were usually 10 to 15 pilots with varying performance levels trying to execute the same procedures,” says Frederick.
While these fly-bys often included stressed-out pilots and busy airspace as planes were trying to execute the fly-by all at once, Frederick found them the most fun.
“They were very difficult and stressful, but how often do you carry FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) waivers to let you scream down a runway like a crazy person? Landings after fly-bys were very challenging, but it was a great feeling when you finally parked the airplane and were able to think to yourself, ‘Wow. I can’t believe I just did that,’” says Frederick.
Even though Frederick and Bowne were not competing, they strove to finish two legs of the race every day. They accomplished this and even were a day ahead when they were halted in Elkhart, Ind., because of a line of thunderstorms threatening the area. The break gave Frederick and Bowne a chance to rest up and relax with the local chapters of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the Ninety-Nines and various airport authorities who helped the racers protect their planes from the storm and enjoy the town of Elkhart.
Throughout the journey Frederick shared stories and photos of her adventure in her blog. From visiting a shell factory in Florida to enjoying a barbeque with other pilots in Elkhart, Frederick not only earned hours for her license, but also had an adventure that not many college graduates experience.
However, Frederick's journey is not quite over. She is working on her master’s degree in atmospheric science at Ohio State and logging flight hours to earn her commercial license. She hopes to one day get involved in aviation weather research with NASA or NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration).
“By ‘get involved’ I mean I would like to fly into adverse weather conditions, such as icing, thunderstorms and hurricanes,” says Frederick.
To learn more about the race and Frederick’s adventures, read her blog at here.
