Daytona Team Takes Top Collegiate Honors

For the second year in a row, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University pilots from its Daytona Beach, FL, and Prescott, AZ, campuses have earned top spots in one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious all-female, four-day transcontinental flight competitions.

Daytona Beach pilot Valdeta Mehanja and co-pilot Danielle Erlichman (pictured) finished first in collegiate competition and third overall in the 2013 Air Race Classic (ARC), while Prescott pilot Shelby King and co-pilot Anna Chrzanowski (pictured, below) earned fifth place in collegiate and 12th overall. The Embry-Riddle teams competed against 45 other teams from around the world, including nearly a dozen other U.S. universities.

This year’s race began June 18 at Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, WA. The race consisted of nine check-in spots along the 2,458-statute-mile route, completing the journey at Drake Field Airport in Fayetteville, AR, June 21. Embry-Riddle racers have participated in the ARC every year since 2007, finishing twice as the No. 1 team in the collegiate subcategory and capturing the No. 2 ranking in the overall competition. Prescott has taken part every year since 2009, ranking as high as No. 2 in the collegiate division and No. 6 in the overall competition.

Mehanja, of the Daytona Beach team, is pursuing a B.S. in Aeronautical Science and works as  a flight instructor. Her co-pilot, Erlichman, holds the same degree and currently works as a flight instructor while pursuing an M.S. in Aeronautics. Erlichman also competed for Daytona Beach in last year’s Air Race Classic. “It was a huge honor representing Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach Aeronautical University at the women’s air race classic this year and just being able to meet this small group of women from across the united states, was an incredible opportunity for me,” Mehanja, a first-time ARC competitor, said. “The knowledge that I gained during these past two weeks was a huge contribution to my flight experience. I am very grateful to the university to have been able to participate this year.”

The team’s alternate pilots were students Waverly Giannotti and Kelsey Tenhoeve. Marisha Falk, a former ARC competitor who now drives the Embry-Riddle Jet Dragster, served as coach.

King, of the Prescott team, has nearly completed her B.S. in Aeronautical Science and plans to become a flight instructor. Chrzanowski holds a B.S. in Aeronautical Science and is a flight instructor. The team’s alternate pilots were flight instructor Maren Ferreira and former ARC competitor Marlene Wessel. Their coach was flight training manager Ryan Albrecht.

Each ARC aircraft is judged against its own handicapped cruising speed, and teams must follow the route as closely as possible while improving their average speed - a format that focuses more on piloting skills and decision-making than on speed alone. The women were selected for the competition by Embry-Riddle College of Aviation administrators because of their piloting skills, competitive spirit and knowledge of aviation, safety, navigation, meteorology and crew resource management. Both teams flew Cessna 172 aircraft from the university’s fleet. “This experience was one unlike any other. I was able to not only work with a great teammate, but use both my academic and flight training skills to help us succeed and fly a safe race,” Chrzanowski said. “We met a lot of extraordinary women and had unbelievable support from our university and community.”

“We're excited to use what we've learned and compete again next year,” she added.

Other schools that fielded teams in the Air Race Classic were: Jacksonville University, Liberty University, Louisiana Tech University, Kansas State University, Metropolitan State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Purdue University, Texas State Technical College, University of North Dakota and University of Oklahoma.

(Pictured in top photo: ERAU Daytona Team  Danielle Erlichman(L) and Valdeta Mehanja (R). Pictured in lower photo, ERAU Prescott team Shelby King (L) and Anna Chrzanowski (R))

FMI: www.erau.edu