INDIANAPOLIS — More than a thousand people will take on a Boeing 727 airplane in a massive tug-of-war match this Saturday, during Special Olympics Indiana's annual FedEx Plane Pull Challenge at the former Indianapolis International Airport.
The fundraiser pits teams of up to 20 against an aircraft weighing more than 70 tons. The group that pulls the plane 12 feet in the least amount of time wins.
This is the ninth year Special Olympics Indiana has conducted the event. The idea originated with Special Olympics Virginia, which still has the largest plane pull nationally. Eric Garrett, a ramp tower controller for FedEx and Special Olympics volunteer, heard about the fundraiser and suggested doing it here. He got FedEx to donate a plane.
"Since then it's really grown exponentially," said Amanda Shelley, public relations and marketing manager for Special Olympics Indiana. "We're very pleased with the way the event has grown."
More than 60 teams are already registered this year - enough to spark rumors of getting a second plane. This has become Special Olympics Indiana's largest single-day fundraiser of the year and second largest overall, behind the Polar Plunge.
Teams can register up to the day of the event, which opens 8 a.m. Saturday. Cost is $1,000 per team. Spectators can watch for free.
"Plane Pull is one of those things where until you see it, it's really hard to grasp," Shelley said. "A lot of times we do have return teams that have a mix of new and familiar faces. There are several companies that have come to own the Plane Pull as something they do every year."
RW Armstrong, a downtown engineering firm, is one. They have three teams registered this year and regularly win the team spirit or top fundraiser awards. Fundex Games is another regular, and a sponsor.
"The corporate division you see a lot of the same teams," Shelley said. "In the open division you never know who you're going to get. It's always a nice mix of veteran pullers and rookies."
New this year is the "Runway Run," which includes a 7.27-kilometer run and one-mile fun run/walk. Cost is $25 per person and each participant receives a T-shirt. Prizes will be awarded to the top three male and female finishers.
"The course will go through a lot of restricted grounds that people couldn't normally run on," Shelley said. "We're hoping that'll draw an additional crowd. I definitely think it's going to add a new and exciting element."
Special Olympics Indiana only loosely keeps track of the records for this event. Shelley says it's unfair to compare pull times from year to year because the weight of the plane varies based on how much fuel is in it. There have been teams that have pulled it 12 feet in less than 5 seconds though. The average time is less than 10 seconds.
"We had a team two years ago where it was just amazing (how fast they pulled the plane)," Shelley said. "We don't know if the plane was especially light that time or what was going on, but we have not yet seen that time again."
For more information on the Plane Pull Challenge and Runway Run or to register, visit the website www.soindiana.org.
wade.coggeshall@flyergroup.com
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