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| By Carmelo Turdo |
The 20th Anniversary AirVenture Cup Race, the prelude to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017, was launched July 23 from Mount Vernon Outland Airport in central Illinois as a weather front arrived to break the week's scorching Midwest heat wave. The race is the first official event of the nation's largest annual aviation gathering, and the third race in five years hosted by this airport. Including support planes, over 100 aircraft were part of this year's race, the largest turnout in recent years.
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| (AirVenture Cup Race graphic) |
The original AirVenture Cup Race route was from Kitty Hawk, NC to Oshkosh, with a stop in Dayton, OH added for fuel and weather contingencies. The route soon proved to be too long and plagued by weather issues, so it was later shortened to begin in Dayton. Since 2013, the race starting point has alternated between Mount Vernon (odd numbered years) and Mitchell, SD (even numbered years). This year's route begins at Mount Vernon Outland Airport and runs through Lacon, IL, Viroqua, WI, and Black River Falls, WI before finishing at Merrill Municipal Airport north of Oshkosh. Due to the weather front, the official starting point was changed to Sterling Rockfalls, IL following the 9:30am takeoff. Most racers will proceed to Wittman Regional Airport Sunday afternoon to be in place prior to the opening of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017. As will be evident from the photo essay below, there are numerous aircraft types participating in the race, and so there are multiple aircraft classes to accommodate the differences in performance for each major aircraft type.
The Aero Experience visited Mount Vernon Outland Airport during the airport's open house event on July 22. In this supplement to our original story, we have coverage of the racers at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 featuring photos from team member Fred Harl.
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| Mount Vernon Outland Airport team ready for action |
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| Great Lakes - Jeff and Jennifer Edwards (and below) |
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| Christen Eagle II - David Gillespie (and below) |
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| RV-8 - John and Patti Stahr (and below) |
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| RV-4 - Tim and Carley Hardage (and below) |
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| Lancair IV - Paul and Pam Tackabury |
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| RV-7 - Scott Roze |
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| F1 Rocket - Wayne Hadath |
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| Lancair 360 - Joe and Eileen Czabaranek |
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| Lancair 320 - Bob James |
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| Turbine Legend - Marty Abbott |
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| Lancair Legacy FG - Shane Daly |
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| Lancair 360 - Mark Quinn |
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| Ercoupe Support Plane |
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| Questair Venture - Tony Crawford |
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| Glasair - Steve Hammer |
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| Meyers 200D - Dane and Jimmy Pruitt |
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| Meyers 145 - Jamon Pruitt |
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| Gobosh 700 - Carl Houghton |
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| Diamond DA-42 - Mike and Traci Farley |
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| Formation arrival - C182, Vari EZ, Long EZ |
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| Vari EZ and Long EZ taxi in to park |
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| Vari EZ - Leif Johnson (and below) |
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| Long EZ - Dave Adams (and below) |
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| Long EZ - Greg Struve |
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| Vari EZ - Gil Hutchison |
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| Cozy - Jeff Mallia |
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| Defiant - Harry Manvel |
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| Ximango AMT-200 - Mike Phillips and Tom Godfrey |
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| Mustang II - Les Burril |
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| Quickie Q200 - Sam Hoskins (and below) |
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| Christen Eagle II - David Marten (and below) |
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| RV-8 - Jon Ross |
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| SX-300 - Jim and Gwenn Cianci |
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| SX-300 - John and Melissa Wilson |
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| SX-300 - Jim Hoyt |
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| SX-300 - Tuck McAtee arrival and local flight (and below) |
The racers are seen here at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2017 as part of our team coverage:
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