Women's aviation team visits Louisville in the hopes of inspiring future aviators

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Birds of Paragon came to Louisville to mingle with other aviation enthusiasts Wednesday.

Flight Club 502 hosted the exclusive meet and greet with the Paragon Flight Training race team.

“We're an all women team,” Lauren Ramage, Birds of Paragon Team captain, said. “I'm just so thankful for the experience.”

The team partnered with Flight Club 502 for this event. The club is a nonprofit organization that aims to teach teens about opportunities for the next generation of aviators. Executive Director Annabelle Klein said the goal of Flight Club 502’s event was to celebrate women in aviation while showcasing the variety of job opportunities in aviation.

“There are so many more jobs in aviation other than being a pilot,” Klein said. “We have a lot of volunteers and retired airline pilots that spend their time here mentoring these kids and helping them find their career path.”

The Air Race Classic (ARC) is a national four-day air race exclusively for women. It was established in 1929 by well known female pilots such as Amelia Earhart.

“It's a big race,” Klein said. “This is the first time the team has ever been here at Bowman Field, and it's quite exciting to cheer them on.”

The Birds of Paragon will depart Thursday morning on their way to Grand Forks. That’s where the ARC will be held June 20-23.

“They will race from there all the way down to homestead Florida,” Jeffrey Wolf, Paragon’s chief flight instructor, said. “It's going to be one of those trips of a lifetime. Not many people get to do a cross country race, so I hope they enjoy the experience.”

Nearly 50 teams will participate in the 2,400 statute mile race.

In 2022, the Birds of Paragon won second place overall and first place in the Fastest Piper Aircraft category. Rumage said the team’s greatest strength is communication.

“We all have our own jobs,” Ramage said. “I'll be flying, my copilot will be navigating, and then the pilot in the backseat. I feel like between all three of us, we're not afraid to help each other out even though we all have our own jobs.”

Win or lose, Rumage said one of her team’s goals is to be role models for young girls and future generations.

“We’re just constantly showing them that they can do this,” Rummage said. “Their goals are attainable.”