Eighteen small planes roared through the skies over Modesto in quick succession this week, each one flown by a woman racing toward a finish line 750 miles away in Central Oregon. The aircraft were competing in the Palms to Pines Air Race, an annual cross-country contest flown entirely by women that traces its roots back nearly a century.
The race, which runs over two days and is sponsored by the Los Angeles chapter of The Ninety-Nines, starts in Santa Monica and pushes north through California before organizers announce the winners in Central Oregon, according to KCRA. Modesto serves as one of the checkpoints along the route, with the race continuing on from Red Bluff, California, where the field makes its first stop. Some pilots fly straight through to Red Bluff, while others break there for lunch and refueling before pressing on.
At Modesto Airport, members of the San Joaquin chapter of The Ninety-Nines handled timing duties as planes streaked overhead. Lynne Orloff managed race times and penalties on the ground, while Dianne Cole monitored approaching aircraft from the airport tower, tracking each plane as it came into view.
A Farm Girl’s Path to the Cockpit
Among the pilots flying through was Vicki Schwebach, who grew up in South Dakota and now lives in San Diego. Schwebach was introduced to flying by her father, and she recalled the moment that set her course: watching F-4 fighter jets scream over the family farm. Her father told her then that she, too, could fly…