This race for female pilots of small aircraft starts in Concord, Calif., on June 16. Lovness and the other racers will fly across the country over four days to the final stop in New Cumberland, Pa.
Tracy’s story
“I started flying 14 years ago, and I’m 60 years old now, so I started aviation at an older age,” Lovness said. “The motivation for me to fly was to see different things. I wanted to travel. I wanted to travel North America, and I thought a small aircraft would be ideal to do so.”
She took a demo flight at a flight school, and that’s when she realized that getting a pilot’s license would be about more than just flying. “It would be the challenge of learning something this different, this much out of my comfort zone,” she said.
Her husband Patrick Kluempke quickly jumped on board and started taking lessons too, after seeing Lovness’ enthusiasm. They bought their own aircraft, a 310 horsepower Cirrus SR 22 in 2003. Since then they have flown to the Bahamas, the Florida Keys, the San Juan islands, through Alaska and through Canada.
“We’ve been able to use this little aircraft and fly all over and land in little airports and big airports and see things we never thought we would see,” Lovness said.
Her enjoyment of flying long distances, and her involvement in The Ninety-Nines (an organization of female pilots founded in 1929) prompted her to consider air racing.
“I thought it would be certainly thrilling to do an air race,” Lovness said.
The 2014 Air Race Classic is Lovness’ second air race. She first raced in 2012 and placed 17th out of 55 that year. Lovness’ goals for this year are improving on her 2012 race, improving her skill set and improving her cockpit management.
“I want to manage the whole race better and not just complete it,” she said. “I want it to be a learning experience for me as well.”
Since Lovness’ plane can easily reach speeds of 230-250 mph, she is concentrated on safety when she’s flying.
“It’s fast, so you’re focused, and there’s lots and lots of rules that go along with this. You have to make your radio calls and watch out for other pilots,” Lovness explained.
At the same time, the view is certainly enjoyable.
“When you’re flying lower, you’re watching the ground go by, and it’s pretty exciting in any small aircraft. I think you get just a panoramic view of everything,” she said. Another highlight of air racing are the relationships that form between the competitors.
“There’s a camaraderie that’s quite nice,” Lovness said. “These women, whomever might be the best one to answer a question, will sit down with you … they’ll do everything they can to be sure you are flying safely and that you fly the best race you can. But once you’re in they air they will race. You are still competitors.”
History of the race
The Air Race classic is a long-standing tradition of representing women in aviation.
The female pilot’s organization The Ninety-Nines, under its first president Amelia Earhart, founded the Women’s Air Derby in 1929. At that time female pilots wanted to be involved in air racing but were not allowed to compete against men. This annual derby gave them a chance to do so. Other than some time off during the years of WWII and the 1970s, this air race for female pilots has continued to this day. It is now known as the Air Race Classic.
Lovness thinks this race is important because it highlights women in aviation. According to the Ninety-Nines, only about 6 percent of pilots are women, and that percentage isn’t much higher than in the days of Amelia Earhart in the 1920s and 1930s.
“It’s very static,” Lovness said. “It’s never changed since women started flying.” Lovness said that even now female pilots in uniform are frequently mistaken for flight attendants, despite the fact that they are wearing a pilot or first officer’s uniform.
“When we see a women, we still are stereotyping them.” The air racers and The Ninety-Nines hope to encourage women and young people to be become involved in aviation. “We’re also trying to get youth involved,” Lovness said. “We would like people to be aware that this is fun. It is exciting.”
2014 competition
The 2014 Air Race Classic will stretch 2,338 nautical miles from Concord, Calif., to New Cumberland, Pa. The race is approximately the same distance every year, but the route changes.
Fifty-two teams will compete this year. “The women who sign up for this race are a very eclectic group,” Lovness said.
Lovness is a retired accountant. Other participants include 20-year-olds in flight school, professional captains, lawyers, stay-at-home moms and more. Each racer must have one to three teammates. Lovness’ teammate is Sandra Randall of Cumberland, Wis.
Racers can fly a variety of non-turbo-charged small aircraft, usually two- to six-seat planes, as long as the aircraft is in stock condition and has not been modified. Each racer is assigned a handicap speed to equalize the differences in aircraft type and engine power so small vintage planes have an equal chance of winning against new high-performance planes.