By Julianna Parker Jones
The five women representing the University of Oklahoma in the Air Race Classic this past week finished 25th and 27th out of 34 teams.
"I think we did really good, being our first race and all," said Ashley Crawford, a member of the team that placed 27th. She and team members Lexi Taylor and Barb Mclurkin divided responsibilities on their plane, while Micah Doeden and Kiersten Orrick flew the other OU plane.
The women completed the four-day all-women air race Friday flying two aircraft about 2,700 miles. They competed against teams in other types of aircraft that were handicapped based different features. Crawford said their planes had high handicaps that were difficult to overcome.
Crawford said the women learned a lot during the grueling competition, and they also had a lot of fun.
"I think we did really good," she said. "We learned a lot, so I'm pleased with it actually."
Taylor said she and her team members learned a lot about flying, like how to decide when to keep going and when to stop because of bad weather. They also learned how to better communicate with air traffic control in all the different environments in which they flew, she said.
Although the Sooner teams did not win the competition, Taylor said the experience was a positive one for a first try.
"We tried really hard," she said. "We did our best. It was a good learning experience."
The hardest part was probably just flying for so long each day. None of the women had flown for more than six hours at a time before, Taylor said. Wednesday, the women flew about 11 hours.
"It was long and tiresome, but it was a good experience," Taylor said. She said the women hope to see at least one team from OU compete next year as well.
On the other team, Doeden said she was also challenged by the experience but remained "excited the whole time."
There was a lot of pressure on the Sooners who participated in the air race, most of whom were students. Doeden said they had to make tough decisions about whether or not to fly in potentially bad weather. As a student, she normally would just wait for better weather, but this time she didn't.
"In this race there was a lot of pressure to go," she said. "... We decided to go and it turned out fine."
Doeden said the women learned a lot at the race and developed good contacts with other women pilots.
"Obviously we had hoped to do better, but we think it was a good experience for our first effort," she said.
Julianna Parker Jones 366-3541 jparker@normantranscript.com
