We made the local paper!

 

 

 

Local pilots competes in annual air race

 

Lake Havasu City, AZ – Local pilots, Pam Rudolph, Frances Irwin and Shannon Hicks-Hankins will soar across the country as they compete in the 2013 Air Race Classic (ARC) this summer which begins June 18th in Pasco, Washington and spans over 2,128 nautical-miles.

 

Racers will undergo briefings, flight planning, and fly-by study prior to take off. The race is an annual all-female-pilot air race in which pilots race against their own best speed in the plane of their choice. There are, however, limitations: the aircraft must be “stock” models (no experimental) and have their handicap speed identified with a check-pilot. They will zoom through eight intermediate stops in four days enroute to Fayetteville, Arkansas in the quest for the fastest time.

 

Both Pam and Shannon return for their second ARC while this will be Frances’ first race.

 

Rudolph holds a Private pilot certificate, single-engine land and sea, with 1,800 hours logged. Pam returns to the race for, “the adventure of seeing new places, honing my skills and because it’s so much fun!” A retired pharmacy technician, she owns a Bonanza and this year earned her seaplane rating. She enjoys flying back and forth to Florida several times a year to visit family.

 

The ARC carries on the long tradition of women’s air racing that dates back to 1929. Air racing became popular in the 1920’s, but women pilots were forbidden to race against the men in that era, so the ladies started their own.

 

Frances is a Private pilot, single-engine land, with 116 hours logged. She is racing “for the personal challenge and camaraderie of other female pilots, skill development and fun.”

 

Irwin developed her interest in aviation through her employment with a leading distributor and manufacturer of aircraft parts. She and her husband, John, are both new pilots, and they enjoy flying together.

 

Shannon is an Instrument-Rated Commercial pilot with single-engine land and sea, multi-engine land, instrument flight instructor, and advanced and instrument ground instructor certifications and 5,775 hours logged.

 

Shannon races, “because it is fun and challenging. The amount of knowledge you gain from the experience is extraordinary. I love the excitement.”

 

Shannon does office work for her family business and teaches flying part-time. A graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, she has been flying for more than twenty-five years. For three years, she was a captain flying FedEx freight for Empire Airlines in a C208. Her husband, Jon, is also a pilot and an aircraft mechanic.

 

This year’s ARC will have forty-seven teams and over one hundred female pilots compete for the championship title.

 

When she’s not up in the air, Pam enjoys quilting, a hobby she started when she and her husband, Bill, retired to Arizona. Frances enjoys skiing, camping, off-road riding, boating, paddle boarding and hiking with her dogs Buddy and Darla. Shannon loves the outdoors and adventure, travel, hiking, mountain biking and water sports. All three pilots are the members of the Rio Colorado chapter of the Ninety-Nines.