June 26, 2000
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- Jennifer Richard and Jo-Elle Warner will return to WMU's College of Aviation today after completing the college's first ever run in the Air Race Classic June 20-23.
The pair will touch down at Battle Creek's W.K. Kellogg Airport between 2 and 3 p.m. today.
The duo, flying a Mooney Ovation, finished in the bottom tier
of competitors in the race, which went from Tucson, Ariz., to
Hyannis, Mass., but they attracted a significant amount of attention
for the college. Because no plane of this type has ever competed
in the race before, part of their role was to establish a handicap
upon which to base future competitors' flights in the same kind
of plane.
"Our flyers did a wonderful job and clearly had the support
of the race committee throughout the race," says Dr. Richard
Wright, dean of the College of Aviation, who was in Hyannis for
the finish of the race and the Sunday evening awards banquet.
"It was a great experience for Jen and Jo-Elle and resulted
in great visibility for the college.
Wright says race organizers have committed to visiting WMU
in the coming year to fly the college's Mooney Ovations over a
six-mile course and help determine a more realistic handicap for
the plane. Wright says WMU is committed to participating in the
race in the future.
The WMU team was one of three college-sponsored teams to compete
in this year's race. The other two were from Purdue Univeristy
and Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire.
Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 616 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu
Office of University Relations
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616 387-8400
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