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Geoff Soberingkids were flown. This year the 100-degree temperature and rodeo goingon just down the road reduced theparticipation, but in the end there wereabout 150 new Young Eagles flown,mostly by racers and race support staff.The AirVenture Cup Race has itsgenesis with the 1997 Denver-to-Oshkosh “Great Cross-Country AirRace” sponsored by Aircraft Spruce.Longtime friends Eric Whyte and KjellErik Anderson decided to enter withtheir newly acquired Piper Comanche.They had three goals: 1) Finish, 2) Flynon-stop, and 3) Complete the coursein under six hours. They succeeded inmeeting all three goals, finishing with acouple of minutes to spare.The two immediately startedthinking about how to run aneven better race the following year.Eric Whyte was working at EAAheadquarters at the time, and hementioned their thoughts to his boss,Ben Owen, the Director of MembershipServices. Quickly, Jack Cox andTom Poberezny became enthusiasticsupporters. The concept developed as are-creation of the atmosphere at BendixTrophy races. Like the Bendix, therace was to provide an opportunity toimprove the efficiency of flying crosscountry.It was also decided to focusthe race on experimental amateur/homebuilt planes. At this time, EAAwas getting involved with planning forthe “Centennial of Flight” celebrationsin 2003, and a race from Kitty Hawkto Oshkosh looked like a perfect fit.Poberezny suggested that it would bea good idea to run the race a few timesExcitement grew as pilots readied their aircrafton the ramp at Mitchell Municipal Airport. Therace course took them from Mitchell, S.D. toFaribault, Minnesota and on to the finish-linein Waupaca, Wisconsin.before the “big year” to figure out thedetails of planning and managing theevent.So, in 1998, the first AirVentureCup Race was ran from Kitty Hawkto Oshkosh. The 800-mile courselimited the kinds of planes thatcould participate, and only 10 racersparticipated. Immediately they startedlearning about the weather. Stormsappeared along the course and despitean on-site FSS briefing in the morning,racers ended up diverting. At the end ofthe day race-planes were weathered in atairports spread across five states.Despite the problems, the grouppersevered. On the way out to KittyHawk in 1999, Eric Whyte made afuel stop at Wright Brothers Airportin Dayton, Ohio (MGY). While theywere there, he spoke with air showperformer and fixed base operator, BillLeff of Commander Aero. On racemorning, it was clear flying from KittyHawk to Dayton, and terrible weatherto the west. At 6:00 am Whyte calledLeff and arranged for an intermediatestop. That was such a success it becamethe prototype for the subsequent racesthrough 2003.During that period, the raceexperimented with a number ofdifferent changes to the race format.One year they had a low-level timetrialwith a police radar-gun to measurethe speeds. This was a huge successand a large crowd came out to watch.Unfortunately, the police radar-gunwas only able to read up to 199 mph.Luckily the announcer was JackWatson, a regular racer with a flair forthe dramatic, and he simply made upnumbers as the planes went past. Thecrowd loved it.The “Centennial of Flight”celebration in 2003 brought 86 planesto the race. It also marked the end ofthe 800-mile racecourse. CommanderAIRCRAFT FBO AIRPORTAero InsuranceServing MidweSt AviAtion Since 1968Representing All Major Companies& Lloyd’s of London“Give Us A Call Before You RenewYour Current Policy!”(262) 251-9460or FAX (262) 251-7769 aeroins@wi.rr.comTom & Renee WatryWisconsin Aviation Business of the Year (2005)Aero Insurance, Inc. • N94 W15652 Ridgeview Drive • Menomonee Falls, WI 53051Aero Insurance Red2011.indd 1OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2012 MIDWEST FLYER MAGAZINE 391/17/12 12:27 PM