The Arizona Daily Star caught up with Evelyn Sedivy Cowing as she and her pilot were making their way from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Concord, California, where the 2014 Air Race Classic is set for Monday.
The all-female race has 10 stops in four days and ends in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. Each team’s goal is to go as far above their plane’s handicap speed as possible.
Since you returned to flying, what’s the longest distance you’ve flown?
The longest distance I’ve flown since getting back into flying last year was our flight today, ... and we’re not done yet. (She was en route from Nebraska to California).
You’ve participated in transcontinental races before. What do you enjoy most about those competitions?
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Just the challenge of it; meeting new people who share the love of flying, and putting all the textbook knowledge learned to practical use while gaining new knowledge that you can’t learn from books.
You mentioned that you hope to inspire other young women to pursue their interest in aviation. Why is that an important issue for you?
It’s a way that I can “pay it forward” for the support I was given in my early days of flying so many years ago, particularly through the 99s organization. Even after my 30-year gap in flying when I rejoined the organization and became a member of the Tucson chapter, I was given support and encouragement as well as a pat on the back for my efforts in returning to flight; and that is still continuing with support for my endeavors in this race ... chapter members loaning me flight items and equipment that I no longer had after being out of flying for so many years. But that is what women pilots seem to do best ... to help, support and encourage other women in their flying.
