2 August 2004
The 2004 Air Venture Cup Race
Chapter 1 – Preparation H(our),
Tightening the screws….
The week before the Cup Race:
Jack is re-painting parts of his
E-Racer (Race 29) and switching to turn-buckles instead of failed Lancair 320
canopy latches in order to hold down the middle of his 12 foot cowling lid. Equipped with a supercharged Lyc IO 540,
he will fly in the Unlimited Class.
Arnie has polished everything on
his Lancair 360 (Race 96) and wants to race on Thursday because he’s raring to
go. Equipped with a blue-printed
Lycon IO 360, he will fly in the RG Class.
I (Scott) am also ready having
completed finishing touches on my Lancair 320 (Race 94) by covering the plane
with a well-known secret slicker-than-snot coating. Equipped with a simple Lyc IO 320, I
will also fly in the RG Class against all odds and oddities.
The plan is for the three of us
to fly out to Dayton on Sunday morning – but
first, on Friday I’ve got to pick up my temporary landlord, Arnie, at OSH since he dropped his camper in Horicon, WI (our accommodations) and had moved his
truck to West Parking. Required to
avoid crossing 27 and having a mental lapse , I make a screaming left turn-out
after taking off of 36L, giving the tower a close-up view of the bottom (similar
to “Top Gun” flybys). My VHF
broadcast of “Oops” was not well received.
Of course, arriving home I had to re-polish after returning Arnie to KMRJ
thru a hail of bugs wearing cheese-wedge hats.
The day before (Sunday, 25 July
04):
Arnie arrives at KARR (Aurora
Muni) and after relief we brief. 10:15 AM Departure will be as a flight of
three with the slowest (me) leading, Jack in the middle (his second flight with
a new prop) and Arnie watching the 6 o’clock. We are held up at the runway 9 hold line
while waves of incredibly slow T6’s perform overhead approaches (50 of them were
practicing all weekend at Aurora).
A prod to the tower got us
out 15 minutes late. After
departing we settle into the 1:25 flight to Dayton.
The high overcast and cool
temperatures provide a nice ride in smooth air. Our chatter changes over Indiana (5500 MSL), where
we encounter scattered rain showers that we will see for the rest of the
trip. Jack is experiencing the
usual gremlins that accompany his flights – engine power losses that go away
when he switches tanks from the empty (indicating ¼ full), inability to descend
(Tru-Trak still engaged) and an elevator trim jam caused by stripped gears in
the servo. Arnie and I keep track
of “nearest” airports as we hump along.
15 minutes out of Dayton (KMGY),
Arnie announces that he just finished his pork sandwich – poor form I thought,
he could have fixed two more for us.
OK, he got his come-uppance as Race support provided us with tasty BBQ
pork and other fixin’s for lunch.
After an uneventful landing and
lunch, we did the usual – talked with other racers, applied sponsor stickers (it
is hard to put Mooney and Cirrus decals on a Lancair) and tried to help Jack
with his difficulties. After
pulling out the un-repairable servo, he found the trim solution by hooking a
bungee cord from his center stick to a spot between the seats.
Things were getting good when the
Lancair pilots (Including Mark #77 and Larry #36) began tweeking each other on
speed enhancements, piloting style and other pointed comments in an attempt to
make the competition suffer a complete mental breakdown before the race. Of course, I am a hardened race pilot
recently released from electro-shock therapy and a cushioned cell and impervious
to any reasoned thought that might diminish my Camelot aloft.
Eric conducted the race briefing
as we made crayon notes in our turn-by-turn picture books. These pictures are important since some
of us are challenged by directions like “fly all the way down the runway to the
checkpoint at the end” and words longer than 6 letters (trailing “s” not
included).
I cannot give enough compliments
to Eric Whyte and his race crew for making the event most memorable. Sunday night was highlighted by a good
dinner in the bowels of the Air Force
Museum followed by 4 hours
of wandering through one of the greatest aviation collections and, at a time
when the museum is normally closed.
Returning to our hotel, many of
us soberly (?) studied the weather forecast for Monday before turning in. Modern laptops were severely hindered by
the 14Kb telephone access to DUATS and ADDS. Luck was with us since the President was
staying home…….no pop-up TFRs.
Monday dawned too early (6:30 AM)
and it was hustle that got us to the last bus scheduled to arrive in time for
the 8 am briefing.
Chapter 2 - Take-off Power
Rules!
Read the next chapter
tomorrow.