Sandy St. John may not be the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic – that was Amelia Earhart – but she wants to be the first of a pack of competitors to land in Atlantic. Iowa, that is.

JIM MAHONEY/DMN

Sandy St. John puts her plane into a steep left turn over Lake Tawakoni during a short flight.

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That city is the final stop in the 80th annual Air Race Classic, a four-day event for female pilots.

St. John, 54, of Forney, and her co-pilot will take to the skies in St. John's Beechcraft Bonanza V-tail on Monday and compete with 34 other teams.

But more than just winning will be on St. John's mind, especially when the route takes her over Texas and the Stephenville cemetery where her parents are buried. The coincidence helped persuade her to register for the 2009 race.

"That sealed the deal," St. John said.

St. John's father was a pilot in World War II. As a child, St. John would go flying with her father, and that is where she fell in love with airplanes.

"I love the way airplanes look and love the way they sound and the way they smell when you stick your head in one of the cockpits," St. John said. "It's different from a car and from anything else you'll ever ride in."

When her father died in 2003, St. John began reminiscing about her childhood, and that's when she decided to try flying herself.

She enrolled for lessons at the Rockwall Flite Center.

"That's when the instructor set the hook, so to speak, and just reeled me in like a fish," St. John said.

Shortly thereafter, St. John earned her pilot's license and took to the skies.

St. John now flies herself to work. As a self-employed microwave path engineer, St. John travels across the country to inspect roadside towers that transmit telephone signals.

"There's nothing like flying," St. John said. "You land at a small airport, and your rental car is right there. You just pull your bag over from your plane over to the car, and you go do your thing."

St. John competed in the 2006 Air Race Classic, but had to withdraw because of engine problems.

But she left the race with more than just flying hours. She found friendship with several women, including Kathy McDonald of Boston.

"We're like sisters," McDonald said.

The two have an ongoing argument about whose plane is better.

"Her Bonanza V-tail is a slippery little dog, but my Dakota is just as good," McDonald said.

The Air Race Classic prides itself on creating a sense of camaraderie among its female contestants.

"One of our main goals is education," said Terry Carbonell, Air Race Classic Inc. secretary and three-time race participant. "Camaraderie comes along with it. I have several very dear friends I met through the race."

The two had planned to fly together in this year's Air Race Classic, but McDonald is caring for her grandkids this summer.

Undeterred, St. John placed a request on the race's Web site and found a co-pilot in Linda Pecotte of Silver City, N.M.

St. John's strong sense of faith drives her as a pilot.

Her favorite part of flying is after she reaches cruising altitude because it gives her a chance to pray.

"I look up into the sky and up into heaven and think and look down underneath and look at God's creation, and I go, 'Man, to be able to do this and have this vantage point and see your creation, Lord, this is awesome,' " she said.