The 2004 Air Venture Cup Race

Chapter 3 On to OSH!

 

Fond Du Lac:

Parked on the south ramp at Fond Du Lac (KFLD), I started to clean up the cockpit and review the flight as more and more racers were arriving.  Hmmm, 2:14 from engine start and 2:07 on the GPS – the time spent at speeds greater than 30 Kts including the FLD maneuvering and 29 gallons of fuel used over 420 NM or about 16.7 statute mpg.  Not bad……

 

Arnie is pleased with the race and related that, as he swooped down to cross the finish line, he and the line judge were greeted with a great sputtering, popping and general engine unhappiness, easily fixed when he switched tanks to the of all within hearing distance.

 

Mark and his son Paul (Race 77) have taken off the cowling to apply a temporary fix to busted mixture linkage.  Notice the help he got from fellow racers…………

 

 

Our motto is “Aid humankind by doing no harm…”

 

Larry (striped shirt above, Race 36) was trying to explain his discovery that his ram air connecting tube had become dislodged thus defeating any significant rise in MAP.  He also had his alternator belt chewed up, but that doesn’t matter much because he uses no electricity after start (except for flaps and gear) as his son Nicholas operates the handheld radio.

 

Meantime, we hear that Jack Morrison has had difficulties with his E-Racer (race 29) – First a dead battery and then, after take off, he has to settle for 170 Kts and 30 gph since his landing gear won’t retract. However, he continued to motor on.  He stopped at the first turn, KSQI, to refuel.  On taking off, the battery cover forward of his canard came off and nipped the end of a prop blade – luckily the other two blades were still available for the return to landing. Jack called it a day and borrowed a truck to fetch his other intact prop back at Aurora Muni. We were all glad to hear he was OK, not happy but OK.

 

After refueling and another briefing, Eric got us all lined up to await departure, as a flight of 50, for the 12 NM to Oshkosh.

 

Our group of 4 Lancairs were located somewhat up front since logic would place the faster landing speed airplanes in the lead.

 

We left right on schedule (2:45 pm) from rwy 36, to rwy 36, for a gentle side-by-side ballistic arc under orders “those on the left land on 36L, those on the right land on 36R.”  Even I could handle that!

 

Oshkosh:

This has got to be the easiest entry to OSH ever. After landing we are directed to special race parking just north of the west ramp taxiway.

 

Reviewing the race numbers note that Rob Logan muddled through the Sport Class at a mere 241.65 Kts, collecting 2^nd place less than 3 Kts behind an SX300.  Rob would have won if he didn’t have to avoid so many low altitude obstacles – hills, trees, tall grass, towers, power plants, etc.

 

The other four Lancairs, in the Formula RG Class (360 CI or less), made it a race by finishing with a 2 minute spread – that’s right, 407 NM (468 SM) with less than a 4 Kt difference.  Go figure!

 

#77 (360) Mark Ravinsky (Speed Demon) (+ son Paul flying) – 209.1 Kts. 2^nd Place.

#96 (360) Arnold Christen (Dough Boy) (+ too much fuel) – 208.3 Kts. 3^rd Place.

#36 (360) Larry Henny (Fast Eddy?) (+ son Nicholas) – 206.4 Kts. Tied for 4^th Place.

#94 (320) Scott Krueger (Grayhawk) (+ speed secrets) - 205.4 Kts. Dead Last.

 

As Chicago Cub fans say “Wait ‘til next year.”  After all, I improved from 220 mph in 2003 to 236 mph in 2004 and finished only 37 seconds behind Larry.  Maybe I’ll use a series of Ionic Breeze devices to add to the MAP.

 

Monday evening, we were bused over to the picnic area for a great buffet dinner and an open bar serving hydrating adult beverages such as BEER.  I knew there was a reward for all the hard work and perseverance that got me to the finish line.  It is amazing how re-hydrated pilots become quite loquacious about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – especially as it relates to tearing across the countryside. 

 

There weren’t enough 320’s to have a Red (360) and Blue (320) Class. On Tuesday, as I wandered about the OSH Lancair parking area, I got typical pilot excuses on why they didn’t race - like “I didn’t know”, “My prop is bent”, “My wife wouldn’t let me”, “I need an oil change”, etc….  Geeeez…..

 

Wednesday evening opened with the awards ceremony to bestow a plaque on each racer that finished and, of course, clever trophies for those that placed.  Later, many would be transported to a fish fry – since Arnie and I had to truck 40 miles to the Horicon campsite, we thought that it might cut into the sleep time we needed to refresh us for our early Thursday departure.  This scheme was slightly altered as we stopped by the Jxxxxxxx family’s OSH campsite where further hydration occurred.  Arriving in Horicon at 10:05 pm we found that all the restaurant kitchens had just closed, forcing us to dine on pizza at the bar as we finished a nightcap.   

 

Thursday went as planned; I followed Arnie to his airport and airlifted him back to KFLD so that he could bus it to OSH, pick up his truck, drive to his camper and get all that back home.  At the same time, I picked up Jack (Race 29) at FLD and flew him back to our home airport, KARR.

 

What wonderful machines we have – High speed personal transport, race plane and air taxi all rolled into one. So, where will you be next year? Sitting on the sidelines watching the world go by? Or, will you step up and join the fun before, during and after the 2005 Cup Race? Huh? Huh?

 

FINI