• EAA Airventure Museum's Pioneer Airport now open for the 2001 Flying Season
• Unlimited Air Racers return to Oshkosh for Flying Exhibitions during EAA Airventure 2001
• Another NXT Sold!

The fascination of flight beckons again this year as the EAA AirVenture Museum's "Pioneer Airport" is now open for its 2001 flying season. Flying activities will take place at Pioneer Airport daily from June-August and every weekend from Labor Day through mid-October (weather permitting).

Pioneer Airport is a unique, interactive part of the AirVenture Museum that harks back to the Golden Age of Aviation between the World Wars. It features airplanes from the first 40 years of powered flight, along with other personal aircraft. The full-scale airport - complete with a 2,000-foot grass runway, open cockpit biplanes and round-top hangars - represents "grass-roots" aviation from the early days of aviation through the present day. This environment enables visitors to enjoy airplanes and make flights in aircraft that are nearly impossible to fly in anywhere else. Pioneer Airport operates seven days a week through Labor Day before returning to weekends-only operation through October 14. A trip to Pioneer Airport is included in regular AirVenture Museum admission.

"Pioneer Airport is a place that is unmatched almost anyplace in the country," said Adam Smith, EAA AirVenture Museum Director. "Not only can people enjoy the aircraft on display, but they can experience the joy of flight themselves in a variety of unique airplanes."

In 2001, flying programs and opportunities are scheduled for Pioneer Airport visitors so they may fully enjoy the world of flight. Airplane rides are available in a vintage Waco cabin-class biplane or a 1929 Travel Air E-4000 biplane. At various times of the summer, a Bell helicopter and a 1929 Ford Tri-Motor, one of America's first successful commercial airliners, will also be available for flights. The cost of aircraft rides is not included with regular Museum admission and are subject to cancellation due to weather or other considerations.

Other featured airplanes include a flying replica of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, as well as a Pitcairn "Autogiro," a forerunner of today's helicopters, on permanent display. In all, more than 40 airplanes are featured, with most restored to appear as they did in the early days of flight. A growing number of these airplanes are flown during Pioneer Airport's flying programs.

Some of the fastest piston-engine airplanes in existence will return to Oshkosh in 2001, providing fast-paced excitement through demonstration flights and displays during the 49th annual EAA AirVenture celebration, which will be held July 24-30 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.

The "Unlimited" racers are representative of the airplanes that compete every September at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev., home of the fastest motor sport in the world. The aircraft include a modified P-51 "Mustang," a Goodyear F2G "Super Corsair" and two Hawker Sea Furys. These aircraft will be displayed at EAA AirVenture's showcase Aeroshell Square and show their speed and power during multi-lap demonstration races just prior to the start of the Warbirds air show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 27-29.

"These aircraft are among the fastest piston-engine aircraft in the world," said Tom Poberezny, EAA President and AirVenture Chairman. "There are few aircraft that combine power and innovation in flight as well as these unlimited racers. We know that AirVenture visitors will enjoy these magnificent aircraft during their flight demonstrations as well as on display at Aeroshell Square."

Each of these aircraft has been modified to generate more than 2,000 horsepower and speeds of around 400 miles per hour. All of them are based on airframes originally designed as military fighter airplanes more than 50 years ago.

The flying demonstrations are similar to the Unlimited races at the National Championships. After a taxi roll, the powerful airplanes will take off in front of the crowd at AirVenture, then stage south of the airport prior to the demonstration race. EAA Founder Paul Poberezny, who has been Chief Judge at Reno for many years, will wave the green flag and announce the start of the race, allowing the high-speed display to begin. After the demonstration, the airplanes will land and return to their places of honor at Aeroshell Square. The pilots and crews of the aircraft will be available to talk with other aviation enthusiasts at the display or in the Reno Air Race tent next to the aircraft.

Three of the aircraft scheduled to fly at AirVenture competed in the 2000 Unlimited National Championships at Reno. Two of them - Jimmy Leeward's No. 9 P-51 "Cloud Dancer" and the No. 99 Sea Fury "Riff Raff," piloted by Hoot Gibson - battled wingtip to wingtip in the Silver Class Race after qualifying within two seconds of each other. They will be joined by the No. 87 Sea Fury "Miss Merced," piloted by Dr. Jim Michaels, which won the Bronze Race at Reno 2000. The fourth aircraft is the vintage No. 57 Super Corsair owned and flown by Bob Odegaard. The Super Corsair won the 1949 Tinnerman Trophy and, after a 12,000-hour restoration, received the 1999 Rolls-Royce Aviation Heritage Trophy at Reno.

Nemesis Air Racing is proud to announce the sale of their second NemesisNXT kit to Mark Bratton of Corpus Christi, Texas. Bratton is also a owner of a Swearingen SX300, a kit aircraft that he built in the mid 1980¹s.

Bratton began his flying career in 1943 and flew the Martin B-26 in World War II in 1944-45. With over 4000 hours under his belt, Mark enjoys racing his Swearingen in cross country races throughout the United States and has enjoyed considerable success in doing so. In 1990, he won the Sun 60 (now called the Sun 100) cross country race. That same year, with Charles Bangert as pilot, Bratton¹s Swearingen won the Albuquerque Cross Country Race and then repeated the victory the next year.

This summer, Bratton will be competing in the AirVenture Cup that will take him from Kitty Hawk, NC to Oshkosh, WI., with a stop in Dayton, OH. ³I¹m looking forward to the AirVenture Cup this year! But what I really need is a fast, high performance plane, like the NemesisNXT² comments Mark.

The NemesisNXT is a two place, retractable gear, single engine kit airplane of all molded carbon fiber construction designed to be fast from assembly all the way to the checkered flag. Because of the Perfect Fit Technology� (PFT) that is incorporated into each kit, the time spent to assemble the NXT will be greatly reduced. Every component that utilizes the PFT saves hundreds of hours for the NXT assembler. PFT means parts don¹t just fit, they fit perfectly. All kit components are handcrafted and keyed with PFT. NXT components are NOT massed produced.

Bratton¹s serial number for his NemesisNXT will be 2. He will be receiving his kit components early this fall with expectation of finishing it in about a year. Before you know it, he too will be racing along side of Jon Sharp.