Young Victorian Pilot To Fly In Us Air Race Today

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23rd June 2009, 03:08pm - Views: 810
Young Victorian Pilot to Fly in US Air Race Today

A young Australian will take on the world's best aviators today in one of the oldest transcontinental air races for female pilots - the 80th Air Race Classic in the US.

Victorian commercial pilot Heather Ford, 23, set to fly originally with fellow Australian Soph Lazarou, 22, who recently fell ill, is now competing with Lynda Meeks from the state of Ohio.

Ms Ford, a member of the Australian Women Pilots' Association (AWPA), received an Airservices flight training scholarship in 2007 which she used to gain her commercial licence. Her race co-pilot, Ms Lynda Meeks flies Cessna Citation X planes for NetJets and runs the US-based flying program Girls with Wings.

The team will fly under the name Pink and Pearls to honour late pioneering aviatrix and former AWPA patron Nancy Bird-Walton.

Ms Meeks admits to having very little General Aviation experience. "Being a military pilot who went straight into (working with) the airlines this is a great opportunity to see the country under visual flight rules," Ms Meeks said.

Ms Ford thanked the team's major sponsors Woodside Park Stud and Swinburne University of Technology for their support in the lead-up to the race. Airservices is also backing the pair's attempts to take out this year's title.

"I'm disappointed that Soph couldn't compete with me after all of our training. But at the same time I'm thrilled to fly with an experienced commercial pilot like Linda," Ms Ford said.

"We would not have been able to compete without our sponsors. We hope that we encourage other women to pursue aviation as a career or simply for the joy of flying," she said.

The pair will fly a late model Cessna 182 from Denver, Colorado travelling across nine states and clocking-up over 2359 nautical miles (4370 kilometres) until the race ends after four days of flying on 26 June in Atlantic, Iowa.

For more information about the air race or Ms Ford visit pinkandpearls.com.au

For media enquiries:
Please call: 02 6257 2828 or
Email: [email protected]


SOURCE: Airservices

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