Hitching a Ride in the AirVenture Cup

Annual 430-mile cross-country race is not run in a straight line but in a series of straight legs forming a circle.

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 12:04 PM ET

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Feeling the need to feel the speed, Tim Slater smoked across the AirVenture Cup finish line at 330 mph. It was a zippy flourish to a day mainly spent at altitude. [Kitplanes file photo]

Key Takeaways:

The AirVenture Cup is a unique 430-mile circular air race designed to minimize logistics for participants heading to AirVenture, attracting a diverse range of aircraft, including high-performance sport racers.
The author's first-hand experience in a Glasair III revealed the demanding nature of competitive cross-country air racing, requiring continuous engine management, navigation, traffic awareness, and strategic decisions regarding altitude and fueling.
The race showcased the significant trade-offs between speed and fuel efficiency, with Tim Slater's Glasair III achieving 287 mph at a substantially higher fuel burn (28 GPH) compared to its efficient long-distance cruising (265 mph at 11 GPH).
Participating in the race also underscored the appeal of owning a fast cross-country airplane as a means for pilots to gain control over their travel, offering an alternative to the inconveniences of commercial airlines.

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Started in 1997 by Eric Whyte and Erik Anderson, the AirVenture Cup offers its own twist on the traditional point-to-point air race. Namely, it is not run in a straight line, but in a series of straight legs forming a circle. This allows participants to end up where they started, reducing logistical headaches and easing the transition from AirVenture Cup on Sunday to hopping down to Oshkosh for AirVenture proper by Monday.

Still, this is a cross-country race covering 430 miles, so something more reliable than thumbscrew power settings and the-world-ends-in-20-minutes fuel consumption are required. Lately, sport pylon racers saw that simply pulling back the loud lever could make them good cross-country racers as well, so a majority of the faster Sport folks joined the already multi-class AirVenture Cup this year.