Transcript Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Around 10 a.m. Thursday, Norman resident Margie Richison and her friend Carolyn Smith of Yukon, climbed into their single-engine Piper Warrior II and took off for El Paso, Texas.

No big deal, people fly to Texas all the time.

The pair won't be in El Paso long. After spending the night, they will get back in their plane and fly west to Mesa, Ariz.

OK, so they like to travel.

Still, Mesa isn't their final destination. After a few days of pilot briefings, inspections and meetings, next Tuesday Richison and Smith board their plane again, and spend the next three to four days flying from Arizona to Menominee, Minn. -- about 2,200 miles north.

It's not a vacation; it's not a business trip.

It's a race.

And it's only open to women pilots.

"We're gonna fly as fast and as safe as possible," Richison said Thursday morning, just prior to leaving. "We're racing, but it's more of a race against ourselves."

The women -- both members of the Ninety-Nines Inc. -- are competing in the organization's annual Air Race Classic, a national speed race for women pilots.

This year, about 40 women pilots have entered. While Richison and Smith are the only Oklahomans to compete, a third Okie, Heidi LaPine, of Oklahoma City, will be flying with Minnesota pilot Karen Redman in the contest.

"We're looking forward to the race because flying is almost euphoric," Smith said. "It's the absolute best."

When the race starts, planes will take off at one-minute intervals and try to reach Minnesota as fast as possible. However, each team is handicapped, Richison said. That is, each team has an average speed set for them and the pilots try to beat their own average.

"This way, it makes the race even. Some planes are naturally faster and it makes the competition more fun."

While the 2,000-mile race is Richison's first -- Smith, a veteran flyer of 26 years, competed last year -- Richison is no stranger to flying. As the CEO of the Ninety-Nines Museum, aviation is a major part of her life; plus, she's been flying since she was a teenager.

Of course, there are some rules: the planes can't fly at night; they must use VFR (visual flight rules), meaning they are limited to flying during bright, sunny days, and they have to stay at least 1,000 feet above the ground.

Prior to the race, pilots attend several briefing sessions and their planes are inspected to make sure no team has used illegal modifications to improve speed. "We hope to do well," Richison said. "But we also want to be safe."

With an average speed of 108 knots -- about 124 miles per hour -- the pair should make it to Minnesota in about three days. However, their Piper Warrior II only holds 48 gallons of fuel, "so we'll have to stop about every four hours," she said.

And that's why the handicapped method works, they say.

"Keep in mind, you're racing against your best time. So it could be the plane that lands last which has the best time."

But these two women want to do more than just fly; they want to inspire the next generation of female pilots.

"Only about six percent of all pilots are women," Richison said. "So one of our main goals at the Ninety-Nines is to educate girls about the field."

Organized in 1929, the Air Race Classic was held because women pilots were not allowed to compete in the male-dominated Cleveland Air Race. In an effort to build support a group of female pilots set the finish of their first race to coincide with the beginning of the men's race -- at the same location on the same day.

Following the race, the women met and the Ninety-Nines was formed. Of the 117 female pilots in the U.S. at the time, 99 joined, giving the group its name. In 2007, Oklahoma City's Wiley Post Airport will host the Air Race Classic. The race, part of the state's centennial celebration, will run from Oklahoma City to New Brunswick, Canada.

M. Scott Carter 366-3545 scarter@normantranscript.com