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2021 ARC Air Derby Replaces Air Race Classic for 2021

With the 2021 ARC Air Derby format, each team developed its own five-leg course—including a team that completed a course in New Zealand. Courtesy Air Race Classic
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The traditional Air Race Classic (ARC) for female aviators was replaced by a socially distanced "ARC Air Derby" in 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The Derby challenged teams to design their own five-leg courses, estimate flight times, and then complete the flights as close as possible to those estimates.
  • Team 49 from Western Michigan University, consisting of Emma Hughes, Emily Hause, and Regine Rose Acosta, won the inaugural Derby, which saw 54 teams complete their flights.
  • The traditional 2,400-mile Air Race Classic, featuring diverse women pilots, is scheduled to return to its standard format in June 2022.
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While much of the aviation industry is increasingly returning to normal as the pandemic subsides, there are lingering signs that COVID-19 is restricting aviation activities. The Air Race Classic, an air race for female aviators with roots going back as far as 1929, was set to take place last week, but the organizers chose a very different format for its 2021 competition as a result of the pandemic.

Pia Bergqvist

Pia Bergqvist joined FLYING in December 2010. A passionate aviator, Pia started flying in 1999 and quickly obtained her single- and multi-engine commercial, instrument and instructor ratings. After a decade of working in general aviation, Pia has accumulated almost 3,000 hours of flight time in nearly 40 different types of aircraft.

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