 |
| Bruce Hammer (left) and his brother, Steve, stand with Bruce’s first-place Glasair. Photo by Stefan Seville |
A series of storms marching across the country over the past few days impacted a lot of flying activities, including the 2011 AirVenture Cup Race.
“The weather at Dayton was bad, so we moved the starting line to Terre Haute, Indiana,” said Eric Whyte, AirVenture Cup chairman. “One of our racers flies out of there. [Terre Haute Air Center] was very accommodating and got us hooked up with a ride and hotels.”
Already a day late, Mother Nature still had something to say with a thick blanket of morning fog causing another three-hour delay to the scheduled start.
Once off the ground at Terre Haute, the racers made turns at Morris, Illinois, DeKalb Illinois, and McDermott Airpark in Sullivan, Wisconsin, before crossing the finish line at the home of EAA Chapter 1158 in West Bend.
Racers arrived in Oshkosh during Monday afternoon’s showcase flights, and the race planes are parked together just north of the Brown Arch.
Overall winner this year was Bruce Hammer, flying a fixed-pitch, fixed-gear, 180-hp Glasair I in the Formula FX Blue class with an average speed of 247 mph.
“This is the first time ever the fastest airplane on the course was a fixed-gear,” Whyte said.
A possible factor in Hammer’s victory was the number of registrants unable to make the start due to the weather.
Next year’s race will start from Wright Brothers Aviation in Mitchell, South Dakota. Todd and Terri Shannon, owners of the FBO, traveled to West Bend to help with this year’s finish.
The AirVenture Cup is open to all experimental aircraft owners. Details and registration information for the 2012 race are at www.AirVentureCup.com.
RESULTS
RACE # |
AIRCRAFT |
PILOT(S) |
AVG. |
|
SPORT FX CLASS |
|
|
14 |
F-1 Rocket |
Wayne Hadath |
237 |
52 |
RV-10 |
Tim Dawson-Townsend & Bob Reilly |
184 |
|
SEA SPORT CLASS |
|
|
80 |
Seawind 3000 |
Keith Walljasper |
167 |
|
Formula RG Blue |
|
|
38 |
Lancair 360 |
Mark Quinn |
232 |
|
Formula FX Blue |
|
|
91 |
Glasair I TD |
Bruce Hammer |
247 |
73 |
Glasair I TD |
Steve Hammer |
240 |
|
Formula FX Red |
|
|
46 |
Cozy Mk III |
Jeff Mallia |
|
93 |
Long-EZ |
Rich Lamb & Joe Conlon |
206 |
|
RV Gold |
|
|
17 |
RV-8 |
R. Damon Ring |
219 |
|
RV Blue |
|
|
411 |
RV-6 |
Jeff Barnes |
189 |
|
RV Red |
|
|
9 |
RV-4 |
Tony Crawford |
179 |
|
SPRINT CLASS |
|
|
22 |
Sam Hoskins |
201 |
|
|
Sportsman |
|
|
64 |
Sonerai I |
Jeff Lange |
176 |
|
Sportsman KR |
|
|
156 |
KR-2S |
Mark Langford |
168 |
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