Air Race Classic Race Begins with Launch from St. Louis Regional Airport

By Carmelo Turdo

Air Race Classic teams from across the country began their aerial odyssey across the Midwest and southeastern states with a takeoff celebration Tuesday morning at St. Louis Regional Airport. After nearly a week of arrivals, briefings, community activities, and even a police escort to the airport, the all-female crews boarded forty-two aircraft and took off for their first destination, Capital City Airport in Frankfort, Kentucky. Their progress can be tracked on the MAProgress site.

The St. Louis Metro-East Illinois area aviation community joined together to provide a warm welcome leading up to launch day. The race officially runs from Tuesday through Friday, and this year's Air Race Classic has a distinctively Midwestern flair, beginning and terminating in Illinois (see map below). 

The Air Race Classic is an all-female aviation event that continues the tradition of the Golden Age air races using current flight standards to promote opportunities for women pilots. It is not the wind in your hair speed dash of yesteryear, but a true test of flight planning, navigation and in-flight decision-making as teams plot their course to each waypoint. The teams compete against the speed handicap for their actual aircraft, with the results depending more on precision and adaptability than sheer speed. There are minimum qualifications for entering in the Competition and Intercollegiate classes, while the rules for the Non-Competition class are more flexible. 

(Air Race Classic graphic)

This year's race launched 42 aircraft, including 23 flown by college and university teams, 
each with two or three crew members. The route includes 11 locations:

St. Louis Regional Airport, Alton, IL: Start
Capital City Airport, Frankfort, KY (246nm)
Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport, Spartanburg, SC (242nm)
Douglas Municipal Gene Chambers Airport, Douglas, GA (211nm)
Pryor Field Regional Airport, Decatur, AL (280nm)
McComb - Pike County Airport, McComb, MS (274nm)
Russellville Regional Airport, Russellville, AR (278nm)
Ameilia Earhart Memorial Airport, Atchison, KS (277nm)
Rosecrans Memorial Airport, St. Joseph, MO (17nm)
Prairie du Chien Municipal Airport, Prairie du Chien, WI (259nm)
Mount Vernon Outland Airport, Mount Vernon, IL (300nm Terminus)

The Aero Experience coverage of the 2026 Air Race Classic continues with this look at the Tuesday launch day pre-flight activities on the apron and the takeoff of each team aircraft. 

The Aero Experience thanks St. Louis Regional Airport, Air Race Classic, sponsors, event volunteers and everyone who made the 2026 Air Race Classic launch a great success! In our next and final post in this series, we will feature our interview with Team 45, The Real Housewives of KCPS, conducted prior to launch day.