Purdue air race team places first in collegiate division, third overall
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Two aviation technology students from Purdue's College of Technology landed today (Tuesday, June 27) at the Purdue Airport after placing first among college teams and third overall in the annual Air Race Classic.
|
Their team, Classic 2, received the Collegiate Challenge Trophy, which is awarded to the highest-scoring team from a college or university. The Purdue team also placed third overall and received $2,000.
"It was quite a surprise when we found out that we placed in the top 10 overall," said Conrad, who was on one of the teams last year when the race was based at Purdue. "This is my last race, and it's good to go out on a high note. It doesn't get any better than this."
Last year, Conrad was on the Purdue team that finished third in the collegiate competition. In 1996, the Purdue team placed first overall, the first collegiate team to ever do so.
Thirty-seven teams competed in the race, including four collegiate teams. Western Michigan's team placed second in the Collegiate Challenge, Central Missouri State University placed third and Kansas State placed fourth.
Purdue's team also received the Fastest Flying Piper Award, which goes to the team with the highest scoring Piper aircraft.
The awards were presented Sunday (June 25) night at a ceremony in Menominee, Mich.
This year's 2,300-mile contest began June 20 in Mesa, Ariz., and made stops in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas and Minnesota before ending in Menominee on Friday (June 23).
Teams in the Air Race Classic win based on the efficiency and accuracy they exhibit in every aspect of the race. Teams are rated based on their performance compared to their airplane's handicap. Because of the nature of the scoring, it is impossible to gauge a team's performance in relation to other teams until the race has ended.
The Air Race Classic, which began in 1929, is the longest-running and only remaining women's air race.
Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu
Source: Michael Suckow, assistant professor of aviation technology and adviser to the Air Race Classic team, (765) 496-6375, msuckow@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
PHOTO CAPTION:
Katherine Conrad, from left, a senior in aviation technology from Cincinnati, and Katie Sparrow, a junior in aviation technology from Sanford, Fla., unload one of their trophies today (Tuesday, June 27) at the Purdue Airport after competing in the Air Race Classic. Conrad and Sparrow represented Purdue in the annual race, placing first in the collegiate competition and third overall. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)
A publication-quality photo is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/images/+2006/air-race06finish.jpg
To the News Service home page