MOUNT VERNON, IL (WSIL) -- The Air Race Classic has landed in Mount Vernon. More than 100 pilots, young and old, are racing across parts of the country.
Mt. Vernon Outland Airport director Chris Collins loves showcasing the airport and the hospitality of southern Illinois.
"It's great for the region to have the race stopping here in Southern Illinois," said Collins. "Anytime we can show off southern Illinois, that's what we all should be doing."
The past two days, the Outland Airport served as a stop for the Air Race Classic. More than 100 female pilots from all walks of life are competing in the 45th annual event.
Collins says Mount Vernon was selected to be a stop for the 2020 race, but it was put on hold because of the pandemic.
"It's an honor to be part of it and be chosen to have a stop here," Collins said.
This is the third time Mount Vernon has provided a stop for the race. The first in 1969, then again in 1990. Now, 32 years later, Mount Vernon is back as a host site.
"Everybody is excited that we were chosen and they're here to help, and they want to be ambassadors for southern Illinois," said Collins.
The race started Tuesday in Lakeland, FL., and will end 2,549 miles away on Friday when they touchdown in Terre Haute, IN.
One team based out of Lakeland is a three-women squad where the youngest is a 17-year-old still in high school.
She says the experience of working with her teammates is a core reason she signed on.
"I know that there's a lot of things that I want to do when I grow up, but I feel like all the experiences the ladies have told me about. It's just eye-opening and very exciting," said Jenson Dix, a Student at Central Florida Aerospace Academy.
One of Dix's peers, Kaitlin Conway, says she enjoys the travel part of the experience.
"I've never been west," said Conway. "Florida is as far west as I've ever been, which we know is as far east as you can go in America, so I'm excited to see all these states."
Although the race is competitive, Richele Floyd says she enjoys meeting the other aviators.
"It is a great opportunity to meet the other teams and learn about what their experience has been," said Floyd.
Although this is the year's 45th event, women's air racing started in 1929 with the Women's Air Derby. That went on until 1947 when the event was remodeled into the Powder Puff Derby. It was discontinued in 1977 but revived the same year as the Air Race Classic.
