Organizers of a cross-country air race that is flown just before EAA AirVenture gets under way in Oshkosh, Wis., each summer announced a new race course—and a reconnection with the world’s largest gathering of general aviation aircraft and pilots—for 2013.
The 2013 AirVenture Cup Race will take place July 28, on a course from the Mount Vernon, Ill., Airport to Waupaca Municipal Airport in Wisconsin, about 30 miles northwest of Oshkosh. In 2012 the race began in Mitchell, S.D., and ended in West Bend, Wis.
Organizers have added new classes of aircraft to the race, which in the past has been a competition for experimental aircraft. Production aircraft, vintage airplanes, and warbirds will be eligible to participate in the timed event. Race applications should become available May 13, with submissions due by July 1.
In April, the racing group issued a statement announcing that the 2013 race would proceed “with the full support and involvement” of the Experimental Aircraft Association. That declaration marked a reversal from 2012, when the race received notice that EAA would “no longer support air racing, including the AirVenture Cup.”
“There were some points that had to be worked out,” said EAA spokesman Dick Knapinski.
Issues clarifying the ownership and nature of the race were negotiated in talks over the winter. After the race, he said, the pilots “are welcome to come here to AirVenture and to participate.”
“We had to do last year to reach a better place this year,” Knapinski said, describing the 2013 race as not sponsored or organized by EAA, but still “one of the functions that is part of the AirVenture week.”
