By Michael Stephan
A June tradition that I am fondly attached to is the Air Race Classic. This year the race made a stop in Sulphur Springs on the way from North Dakota to Homestead, Florida on the 2685 mile race course.
The race started on Monday June 20th Start – Grand Forks, ND (KGFK) and only three racers, those with fast airplanes the Cirrus and a Bonanza, Made it all the way to Texas. Most of the contestants spent the night in Hastings, NE (KHSI). Fighting a terrible overcast of hot humid and thick air, I flew the Fastback to SLR to watch the racers arrive and help if I could. I was interested in seeing behind the scenes, of this iconic race.
All the stops minus one was a timed stop. The airplane flys by and a the time is recorded. Then around the pattern, land, over to the fuel pump, maybe a bit of food, and stretch the legs. Once ready, the pilot takes off and announces a timing pass, where they fly by the timing line again and that start time is recorded. Add up all the in flight times and a final net course time/speed is calculated.
Two posts form the timing line. One volunteer sights down poles and indicates the crossing of the line. volunteers at the table record that time using the official clock, which is a satellite clock.
In the time I was there, two planes, A Cirrus and a Bonanza that overnighted in Sulphur Springs, departed for the next stop, Jonesboro Arkansas. After I departed and arrived back in Grand Prairie, just in front of a huge storm, I monitored the race online and saw the bulk of the teams leave Hastings, NE in time to reach SLR before the end of the race day. Since all of them left early the next morning to make up for lost time, I was not able to make it back to SLR in time to see the fleet depart.
It is interesting to watch, because the person who finishes the journey first is not necessarily the winner. Since all the planes have different cruise speeds, every team/plane gets a handicap. That way a Luscomb, and there was one this year and it finished in the top 10, can compete against the Cirrus. The handicap is based on the factory cruise numbers for that model. So the team that has the fastest flight plan and flys the most precise route can win. Saying all that, it looks like the teams all travel in a big cluster, except for a few. So, I don’t know how much is competition and how much is just completing the task. No matter, it looks like a fun adventure.
If you are interested, you can replay the race on the website’s
. Rewind the time bar and watch em go. This years winners are listed below, but you can see how all the teams finished at airraceclassic.org
As a side note, I did see an old chapter member from nearly thirty years ago. Many of members of that era will remember Chuck Olmstead, who now lives near Sulphur Springs on his own private runway.
