![Planes are lined up for a leg of a past Air Race Classic. [Credit: Air Race Classic]](https://www.flyingmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/86.jpg)
A hangar full of teams gathers for the main weather briefing. It’s the morning of the first day of the Air Race Classic, and the focused tension in the building is palpable.
Competitors all—whether new to the game or not—whisper strategy amongst themselves as the chief meteorologist tasked with the briefing delivers the verdict: Good VFR conditions across the route. Light winds. A high pressure system creating no major weather concerns—except for the haze driven by summer humidity across the Midwest.
