Running the Bluegrass 150

This past weekend I ran in the Sport Air Racing League sanctioned 175 statute mile Bluegrass 150 race, held in Cynthiana, KY, 0I8. It was my first race in three years, unfortunately, there weren't any other competitors in my class as the Midget Mustang, whom I intended to beat, couldn't make it out of Georgia due to weather. The event was well run, with plenty of support  for the racers.

The trip to Kentucky was an hour and a half each way 

My official speed was 203.13 mph, a little disappointing, I hoped for something around 208.  The first two-thirds of the race was very hazy with visibility around 5 miles and clouds around 1,500 feet, but it opened up towards the end. All six of the turn points were over airports, so we flew the race at 200 feet above pattern altitude. 

My cockpit can be a bit hectic, managing fuel, paying attention to the engine, attempting to stay strictly on course and altitude through minor turbulence, watching for the turn points, switching frequencies at each turn, and monitoring the position of the other guys. Of course you fly at full throttle, which for me was 3,000+ RPM.  Each turn point slows you down a little, as does each little variation in heading and altitude, so I'm sure I lost a few MPHs there.

Photo credit goes to Kenn Smith.

It was all a lot of fun and I'm glad I went.  My next race this year will be the AirVenture Cup race, the day before Oshkosh officially opens. 

Race #     Name                           Aircraft          Class                     Speed (MPH)

Race 91     Bruce Hammer           Glasair I TD     Sport FX          273.67
Race 35     Steve Hammer           Lancair IV     Sport                   271.78
Race 77     Matt Cheely               Glasair III     Sport                     262.16

Race 83     Dave Adams              Long EZ     FX Red                   227.66
Race 27     Jim Wilson                 RV-8      RV Gold                      223.62
Race 22     Sam Hoskins             Quickie Q-200     Sprint            203.20
Race 103   Bruce Zimmerman    RV-8     RV Blue                       190.70
Race 701   Van Wadsworth         Mooney M20E     FAC3RG      184.39

Race 19     Mark Baty                 RV-9A     RV Red                      182.63
Race 41     Mike Warner             Bonanza G35     FAC3RG        148.41
Race 78     Roy Roller                Rans S-7     E-LSA                     95.40