Transcript Staff Writer

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Around 10 a.m. Thursday, Norman resident Margie Richison and her friend Carolyn Smith of Yukon, climbed into their single-engine Piper Warrior II and took off for El Paso, Texas.

No big deal, people fly to Texas all the time.

The pair won't be in El Paso long. After spending the night, they will get back in their plane and fly west to Mesa, Ariz.

OK, so they like to travel.

Still, Mesa isn't their final destination. After a few days of pilot briefings, inspections and meetings, next Tuesday Richison and Smith board their plane again, and spend the next three to four days flying from Arizona to Menominee, Minn. -- about 2,200 miles north.

It's not a vacation; it's not a business trip.

It's a race.

And it's only open to women pilots.

"We're gonna fly as fast and as safe as possible," Richison said Thursday morning, just prior to leaving. "We're racing, but it's more of a race against ourselves."

The women -- both members of the Ninety-Nines Inc. -- are competing in the organization's annual Air Race Classic, a national speed race for women pilots.

This year, about 40 women pilots have entered. While Richison and Smith are the only Oklahomans to compete, a third Okie, Heidi LaPine, of Oklahoma City, will be flying with Minnesota pilot Karen Redman in the contest.

"We're looking forward to the race because flying is almost euphoric," Smith said. "It's the absolute best."

When the race starts, planes will take off at one-minute intervals and try to reach Minnesota as fast as possible. However, each team is handicapped, Richison said. That is, each team has an average speed set for them and the pilots try to beat their own average.

"This way, it makes the race even. Some planes are naturally faster and it makes the competition more fun."