Ready to compete: SIU Carbondale School of Aviation certified flight instructors and students who are taking part in the 49th Air Race Classic that starts Tuesday, June 23 are, from left, Sophia Schappe, Grace Gray, Josie Bolter and Bisola Saliu. The four in front of their planes (bottom) are Schappe, Gray, Saliu and Bolter. (Photos by Russell Bailey)
June 22, 2026
Building on a legacy: SIU female aviators ready for 2026 Air Race Classic
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Bisola Saliu didn’t know what to expect when she came to Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s School of Aviation to pursue her goal as a pilot. It’s been a rewarding journey.
Saliu, who is from Jos, Nigeria, is a three-degree SIU graduate and a certified flight instructor (CFI). Starting Tuesday, June 23, Saliu will compete — along with three other SIU female aviators — in one of the nation’s most exclusive events, the 49th Air Race Classic (ARC).
“SIU has always supported me from Day 1,” said Saliu, who with Josie Boelter, a senior in aviation flight and technologies, comprise the No. 27 Saluki Aero team. “Coming in as an international student, clueless to the American world, I found support that helped mold me to the person I am today.”
Grace Gray, a May 2025 SIU aviation management and flight graduate and CFI, and Sophia Schappe, a senior also in aviation management and flight, are the No. 22 Air Dawgs team. Gray competed in 2024 when the route started at Southern Illinois Airport and ended in Fort Collins, Colorado.
“The opportunity to compete in an event like this is extremely unique in the way that it is women
of all ages and all varying backgrounds coming together to fly general aviation aircraft across the
U.S.,” said Gray, who is from Lakeville, Minnesota. “When the chance to compete again was presented, there was not a chance I would turn down the opportunity.”
The ARC celebrates the history of women in aviation. Amelia Earhart was one of 20 women to compete in the first women’s Air Derby in 1929. There are 46 teams in this year’s competition, including 23 teams representing 16 universities. Both SIU Aviation teams will be in Cessna 172S planes, and their progress during the competition can be followed at airraceclassic2026.maprogress.com/
Familiar surroundings
St. Louis Regional Airport in East Alton, Illinois, is the starting point for this year’s ARC. The four-day, 2,400-nautical-mile journey runs through Friday, June 26, and includes eight stops in nine states before ending at Mount Vernon’s Outland Airport. The goal for each team is to beat their own predetermined times — a test of the pilots’ precision and aeronautical skill in accounting for changes in factors that include terrain, weather, winds and air space. Often times, pilots fly with no air conditioning or open windows because the drag will slow the plane down.
Each of the pilots are enthusiastic that the ARC starts and ends in Illinois, noting that it’s an opportunity to showcase the region.
“I really appreciate the fact that it will highlight our state's aviation community and bring attention to some of our smaller local airports,” said Schappe, who is from Festus, Missouri. “ It will also be very meaningful to have my family be able to see us start and end the race.”
Boelter, from Lomira, Wisconsin, will graduate in May 2027, and just earned her CFI.
“On one hand, it might have been cool to end somewhere farther and get to experience flying over another part of the country, but the route takes us pretty far out this year anyways,” Boelter said. “There is also a sense of comfort knowing that before and after the race I will be so close to home. It makes traveling easy and makes it easy for friends and family to come see and support us.”
A new adventure
This is the first ARC event for each of the aviators except for Gray. Each said the most challenging part is the detailed planning that goes into the race, along with making sure that both they and their airplanes are race-ready. Each team left for the Metro East area on June 19 for final preparations.
“These past few months have been packed with preparations,” Boelter said. “There have been so many moving pieces that we have had to sort out and help each other out with, but our two teams have been working together to make sure we are as ready as we can be.”
Gray recalls the 2024 race being challenging in many ways, but what enabled her team to make it to finish “was trust in each other as teammates and resilience to fight through adversity —two very important aspects I will carry on into this years’ race.”
Saliu hopes to leave the race with “new experiences, stories, skills and friendship bonds with the other participants.”
Schappe, who graduates in December 2026, echoed those sentiments.
“I hope to not only grow my piloting abilities and decision-making but also to make meaningful connections with all the other women competing in the Air Race,” she said.
Early interests in aviation
Each pilot’s interest in the aviation field came in various ways. Boelter grew up near EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin, and with her family, volunteered at the event. She took flight lessons in high school and started working at the local airport.
Saliu’s interest was sparked the first time she saw a female pilot.
“Coming from a background that did not highlight women in such careers, I was amazed to see her and that was the inspiration that propelled me to pursue aviation,” she said.
Each hopes to work for regional air carriers initially before moving to larger airlines. Boelter said she wants to work as a CFI at SIU to build hours and experience, and later be a seaplane pilot.
“I’m not sure that is the end goal or just part of it, but I know that I have spend some part of my life flying seaplanes,” she said.
Celebrating 10 years
This is the 10th year SIU Aviation has been in the ARC. A team from SIU won both the overall and collegiate title in 2015, and in 2023 a SIU team placed second both overall and in the collegiate division. SIU provides planes and fuel. Each team designed merchandise to sell as fundraisers, along with utilizing crowdfunding platforms to cover incidental costs including lodging.
Bryan Harrison, SIU Aviation director and an associate professor in aviation management, noted both teams have been preparing for months.
“This is a great opportunity for our students and instructors to engage with the greater aviation community in friendly competition while utilizing their skills, training, and education,” Harrison said.
In addition to competing in the Air Race Classic, Harrison noted that SIU has numerous aviation student organizations including local chapters of Women in Aviation International and the Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance. Each year, the student chapter of Women in Aviation hosts Girls in Aviation Day “to inspire future female aviators and visits Southern Illinois schools to educate youth about career opportunities in aviation,” he said.
The Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook for 2025-2044 shows long-term demand for aviation personnel will remain strong with the need for 660,000 new pilots, 710,000 new maintenance technicians and 1 million new cabin crew members to fly and maintain global commercial aviation fleet over the next 20 years. In North America, that includes 119,000 new pilots, 123 new maintenance technicians and 193 new cabin crew members.
‘The place I needed to be’
In spring 2026, the School of Aviation had 720 students across all of its programs – aviation flight, aviation management and aviation technologies – with 136, about 19% women – in those programs.
“Of all the schools I looked at, SIU has the highest ratio of women to men” in aviation programs, Schappe said. “I also really like that I could get my bachelor’s degree in aviation management and I love how SIU as so many different ways to get involved at the airport.”
Gray, who is from Minnesota, agreed.
“SIU was unique for me in regard to the distance from home, something at first I was cautious to
seek out,” she said. “After touring the facilities and fleet, I immediately felt that it was the place I needed to be, which overall, has turned out to be the best decision I could have made. I have made so many memories, grown as not only a pilot but as a person, and have made many lifelong friends.”
