The Lance Elliott Pull a Plane Challenge to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Kansas was held on Saturday, June 9 at the American Flight Museum, Forbes Field, Topeka. Sixteen teams competed to see which could pull an 80,000-pound vintage airplane 40 feet in the quickest time. The event also featured a car and motorcycle show, games for children and adults, music, food trucks and vendors, military vehicles and exhibits.
This year the competition was split into two divisions: Heavyweight, with an estimated aggregate team weight of more than 1,800 pounds, and Welterweight, with an estimated aggregate team weight of 1,800 pounds or less. Midwest Health won the Heavyweight division with a pull of 12.8 seconds, unseating BNSF, the reigning champions the past two years. V100 Rocks won the Welterweight division, with a pull of 16.13 seconds. The Topeka Police Department came out on top as the highest fundraising team, with a donation of $1,720! The top individual fundraising prize was awarded to LT Robert Simmons with the Topeka Police Department, who is also a member of our Board of Directors and Red Shoe Crew.
"Once again, we had a fun and unique event to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. This is the only plane-pulling competition in the area, and we keep trying to improve the participant and spectator experience each year; we think the success this year was due to that," commented Patrick Smith, Planning Committee chairperson. "We hope to build on the number of teams next year and have the biggest and most competitive event yet." Patrick encourages people to help spread the word, start getting their 10-person teams assembled, and challenge rival businesses, public service departments, and friends to join in and support a great cause.
We appreciate all of the organizations that sponsored this year's Lance Elliott Pull a Plane Challenge:
- BNSF
- Cumulus-Topeka
- Krasny's Motorcycle Shop
- KSNT
- Midwest Health
- WestSide Stamp & Awards
- Westar Energy
"This event was made possible only through the support of BNSF and the American Flight Museum," commented Mindee Reece, CEO/Executive Director of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northeast Kansas. "We are truly blessed with amazing community partners and look forward to an even bigger and better event in 2019!"
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