Two Embry-Riddle Flight Teams to Compete in Women’s Air Race Classic
Prescott, AZ and Daytona Beach, FL, May 5, 2011
Kristen McTee, left, and Kristine Anthony will represent the Prescott Campus in the Air Race Classic.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will field two flight teams in this year's women's Air Race Classic. They'll compete against 47 other teams from around the nation in the 2,365-mile race that begins June 21 in Iowa City, Iowa, and ends June 24 in Mobile, AL, with check-ins at airports in nine other states along the way.
Embry-Riddle selected Kristine Anthony and Kristen McTee from the Prescott Campus and Taylor McWilliams and Rachael Petersen from the Daytona Beach Campus based on their piloting skills, competitive spirit, and their knowledge of aviation, safety, navigation, and meteorology. Anthony and Petersen will serve as pilots and McTee and McWilliams as co-pilots.
Both teams will be flying Embry-Riddle's Cessna 172 single-engine aircraft equipped with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpit.
Anthony, McWilliams, and Petersen are participating in the race for the first time; McTee was an alternate pilot in 2009 and a pilot in 2010.
"Now that we have two races under our belt, we feel that we are better able to focus on improving our race strategy," said McTee. "Personally, last year's race helped me better myself as an aviator, specifically in practicing crew resource management with my teammate and allowing me to experience flying and navigating in and around different kinds of weather."
McTee, whose hometown is Aurora, CO, holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Science, Embry-Riddle's professional pilot degree.
McTee and her teammate Kristine Anthony are both flight instructors at Embry-Riddle and are enrolled in the M.S. in Safety Science degree program. Anthony, whose hometown is Elk Grove, CA, holds a B.S. in Aviation Business Administration from Embry-Riddle.
"I've been around airplanes for as long as I can remember because my dad is also a pilot, and I was attracted to Embry-Riddle because I wanted to be at a school where everyone shares a similar passion for aviation," said Anthony. "I've enjoyed my time here at Embry-Riddle both as a student and as a flight instructor, and I'm excited to represent my campus at the Air Race Classic this year."
Their team coach is Ryan Albrecht, a flight training manager at the Prescott Campus. The team hosts both a blog and a Facebook page.
Representing Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach Campus in the Air Race Classic, Taylor McWilliams of Cambridge, MA, is a junior earning a B.S. in Aeronautical Science. Teammate Rachael Petersen of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is an Embry-Riddle flight instructor who holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Science and is pursuing an M.S. in Aeronautics.
Like many Embry-Riddle students, they chose their careers early in life. Petersen knew at age 8 that she wanted to be a pilot. "I did a lot of traveling by myself as a child and loved the airport feel," she said. "I also knew I could never sit in an office for eight hours a day looking at white walls."
McWilliams decided she wanted to be a pilot when she took a ride in an L39 Czech military jet on her 13th birthday. "Being able to do barrel rolls and fly upside down along the clouds was incredible. I had always been interested in aviation but I knew I wanted to fly after that. I started taking lessons my junior year of high school and got my private and instrument ratings before I came to college."
Embry-Riddle flight training managers Marisha Falk and Carolina Lenz-Anderson are the coaches of the Daytona Beach team.
The 49 teams registered for this year's Air Race Classic include collegiate race teams from Florida Institute of Technology, Indiana State University, Jacksonville University, Kansas State University, Lewis University, Oklahoma University, Purdue University, Southern Illinois University, and University of Illinois.
Each aircraft is judged against its own handicapped cruising speed, with the objective of following the route as closely as possible while improving average speed. This format focuses on piloting skills and decision making instead of just the speed of the aircraft.
Originally known as the Powder Puff Derby when it was established in 1929, the race is sponsored by Air Race Classic Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness of general aviation, presenting and promoting the tradition of pioneering women in aviation, demonstrating women’s roles in aviation, and encouraging and educating current and future women pilots. For more information, visit the Air Race Classic Website.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, is a nonprofit, independent institution offering more than 40 baccalaureate, master's and Ph.D. degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business and Engineering. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., and through the Worldwide Campus with more than 150 locations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Canada and the Middle East. The university is a major research center, seeking solutions to real-world problems in partnership with the aerospace industry, other universities and government agencies. For more information, visit http://www.embryriddle.edu, follow us on Twitter (@EmbryRiddle) and facebook.com/EmbryRiddleUniversity, and find expert videos at YouTube.com/EmbryRiddleUniv.
