AVC report (partial)
Race day began inauspiciously, with everyone sitting on folding chairs and squinting nervously at radar images on their iPhones, iPads, Androids, or other favorite tech gadget. Thunderstorms developing in north-central Illinois appeared destined to block the planned course, so the organizers devised an alternate plan to fly to Rantoul IL, then wait out the storms and continue. However, after some more delays it became clear that the storms would also beat us to Rantoul, so a new plan was made to go to Mattoon IL. We launched in a a hurry, trying to beat the weather. One of the first planes was the Nemesis NXT, which promptly deposited its canopy on the runway during takeoff roll (canopy latched?). However, the race crew were able to quickly gather up the larger pieces and soon we were all launching for Mattoon, about 185 nm away.
As it turns out the storms weren't done with us yet. Some of the faster racers made it to Mattoon, but the weather was bearing down fast. A couple of racers reported a rough ride beneath some ominous-looking clouds, and soon a high-pitched voice from a Lancair declared an encounter with "severe turbulence", followed by some other unintelligible remarks. The tone of his voice got everyone's attention, and moments later came the report that Mattoon winds were gusting to 38 kts. About 15 airplanes decided in short order to divert to Terre Haute IN. We woke up the tower controller there and somehow all reached the ground without serious mishap (it would not surprise me if some NASA forms are filed). We were able to roll into a large hangar just ahead of the gusts and lightning, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the fine airport restaurant. Other racers and race crew scattered to other parts of west-central Indiana and east-central Illinois.
The plan was to organize a restart from Mattoon. However I had been seeing uncomfortably high oil temperatures during the first leg, and decided that my race day was over. I high-tailed it back north to Wisconsin, and one of two other racers also dropped out. The weather was breaking up quickly so I assume the remaining group made it to the finish in West Bend. Eric Whyte and the AVC crew did a spectacular job keeping things organized in the face of challenging conditions.