Upper Iowa University professor is co-pilot in women’s air race
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Upper Iowa University faculty member Kata McCarville, right, is co-pilot in the Air Race Classic from Arizona to Ohio this week. She is shown on an earlier flight with her pilot, Minnetta Gardinier, from the University of Iowa. |
FAYETTE, Iowa (June 18, 2012) – A UIU faculty member is part of a team of female pilots competing in the 2012 Air Race Classic from Lake Havasu City, Az., to Batavia, Ohio.
Kata McCarville, UIU associate professor of geosciences, just earned her private pilot's license in October 2011, and joined up with friend and fellow pilot, Minnetta Gardinier, associate professor of pharmacology and an associate dean of the Graduate College at the University of Iowa, to fly the June 19-22 race.
"I am the co-pilot, and Minnetta is the pilot," said McCarville. "We are flying in her plane, a Cessna 177 Cardinal, single engine aircraft, as 'The Flyin' Hawaiiowans.' And we'll wear Hawaiian shirts, of course."
McCarville said the team was honored by being given the team number, Classic #6, and being numbered in the top ten in the race. This year's race has 55 teams of female pilots.
Women’s air racing started in 1929 with the First Women’s Air Derby. Twenty pilots raced from Santa Monica, Calif., to Cleveland, Ohio, site of the National Air Races. The early air races were the “on to” type, with noon and night control stops, and the contestants more or less stayed together. In that manner, weather and flying conditions were practically the same for each entrant and the race officials could release standings to the media after each day of racing.
The current race routes are approximately 2,400 statute miles in length, and the contestants are usually given four days, flying VFR in daylight hours, to reach the terminus. The objective is to fly the “perfect” cross-country. The purse for the top 10 finishers is $15,000.
Follow McCarville’s flight at the team’s blog (http://flyinhawaiiowans.blogspot.com/).
About Upper Iowa University
Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to over 6,800 students—nationally and internationally—at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and independent study.
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