Maybe I'm living in a different dimension than everyone else but I don't think so. I flew in the AirVenture Cup Race from Dayton to Oshkosh this year along with around 50 other competitors and it was a great adventure. I have flown in several others beginning with Aircraft Spruce's Great Cross Country Air Race from Denver to Oshkosh in 1996. Every one of them has been a thrill and I keep trying to win - I never come close of course but the intensity and will to win are there always. People say "the comaradrie is great" and it is but a lot of it is because everyone wants to win (badly) but they believe in safety and good sportsmanship. At Dayton this year on the evening before the race we all went to the Dayton Engineering Club for dinner and a prerace briefing. My wife and I sat at a table with Keith Phillips (Swearingen SX-300), Sam Hoskins (Q-200), John Shaw (RV-8) and several race support people. The conversation was very friendly and aviation focused as you might imagine but when the racers were launched Sunday morning evey pilot was focused on making the swiftest transition from Dayton to Oshkosh via two turn points in Illinois. There was special parking at Oshkosh near the tower, a post race banquet (mostly brats, and other airshow type food), an award ceremony and a group get together of all racers at a local fish restaurant but head and shoulders above everything was the participation in the race itself. I can't come up with the perfect words to describe the feeling but "a band of brothers and sisters" might convey the emotion and mutual respect that prevailed in that event.
Well I ordered the official EAA Video of AirVenture Oshkosh 2005 and I was very surprised to find that there was no coverage of the race at all - not even a mention. So I went to the EAA web site and used the "Contact Us" e-mail access to find out why. I copied the response below so that you would be aware of the EAA HQ view of the race. If you have any interest in preserving this race for your own participation it would be a good idea I think, to let them know about your interest.
Bob Axsom
Dear Mr. Axsom:
Thank you for your question. There are two reasons that there was no AirVenture Cup Race coverage in this year's video.
First, we try to even out the time we relegate to each event during AirVenture, and each year try to give extra time to two or three divisions or events. Some years Homebuilts get more coverage than Ultralights, sometimes we give areas such as KidVenture a larger feature. Sometimes, when we cover something for several years in a row, we "give it a rest" for a year, to give time to something else.
Secondly, and more importantly, the AirVenture Cup is very difficult for us to cover from a video standpoint. We don't have the resources (time, money, or volunteers) to send crews to the start of the race, and to shoot footage of the planes en route, and install point-of-view cameras in the aircraft. For every year except the first, we have covered only the finish of the race, and frankly, we've wondered if people have been frustrated that they are only getting the climax of the story, and not the entire story. If we get enough responses such as yours, we will probably cover it more thoroughly next year. In any case, we will probably at least give it a paragraph or two in the future.
I hope that answered your question.
--Robb McAllister
Producer/Writer
EAA-TV
-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Knapinski
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 8:48 AM
To: Robb McAllister
Subject: FW: AirVenture General Information
-----Original Message-----
To: Convention
Subject: AirVenture General Information
I just viewed my copy of the EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2005 DVD. Zero coverage of the AirVenture Cup Race - why is that?
Bob Axsom EAA 370326
Well I ordered the official EAA Video of AirVenture Oshkosh 2005 and I was very surprised to find that there was no coverage of the race at all - not even a mention. So I went to the EAA web site and used the "Contact Us" e-mail access to find out why. I copied the response below so that you would be aware of the EAA HQ view of the race. If you have any interest in preserving this race for your own participation it would be a good idea I think, to let them know about your interest.
Bob Axsom
Dear Mr. Axsom:
Thank you for your question. There are two reasons that there was no AirVenture Cup Race coverage in this year's video.
First, we try to even out the time we relegate to each event during AirVenture, and each year try to give extra time to two or three divisions or events. Some years Homebuilts get more coverage than Ultralights, sometimes we give areas such as KidVenture a larger feature. Sometimes, when we cover something for several years in a row, we "give it a rest" for a year, to give time to something else.
Secondly, and more importantly, the AirVenture Cup is very difficult for us to cover from a video standpoint. We don't have the resources (time, money, or volunteers) to send crews to the start of the race, and to shoot footage of the planes en route, and install point-of-view cameras in the aircraft. For every year except the first, we have covered only the finish of the race, and frankly, we've wondered if people have been frustrated that they are only getting the climax of the story, and not the entire story. If we get enough responses such as yours, we will probably cover it more thoroughly next year. In any case, we will probably at least give it a paragraph or two in the future.
I hope that answered your question.
--Robb McAllister
Producer/Writer
EAA-TV
-----Original Message-----
From: Dick Knapinski
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2005 8:48 AM
To: Robb McAllister
Subject: FW: AirVenture General Information
-----Original Message-----
To: Convention
Subject: AirVenture General Information
I just viewed my copy of the EAA Airventure Oshkosh 2005 DVD. Zero coverage of the AirVenture Cup Race - why is that?
Bob Axsom EAA 370326
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