Dr. Jamon Pruitt And Brother, Dane Win In Their First AirVenture Cup Race

The winners of this year's AirVenture Cup Race in the FAC1RG category flew a Myers 200 airplane, which Global Parts Group is exploring returning to production after a 50 year hiatus.

The company said it is "encouraged by the response from potential customers and the performance of the existing fleet of Meyers 200 airplanes" as it evaluates the possibility of returning the aircraft to production

Dr. Jamon Pruitt, a cardiologist from Little Rock, Arkansas and his brother, Dane, the manager of Saline Regional Airport in Benton, Arkansas won the 2015 AirVenture Cup in the FAC1RG category with an average speed of 202.95 mph over the 409 mile course between Mount Vernon, IL, and Wausau, WI. 

The FAC1RG category includes any factory-built aircraft with 280 HP and above, normally aspirated, with retractable landing gear.

"In the spring, I heard about this cross country race--the AirVenture Cup--and we thought it might be fun,” said Dr. Pruitt. “This is the 18th year for it, but our first. We were the rookies. We were up against a Comanche 400 and a V-Tailed Bonanza.  I guess our Meyers lived up to its name; it averaged over 200 miles per hour, and it might have done considerably better if we had been more experienced and thoughtful in our preparation.  We took off with two people, a full fuel load, and 400 pounds of camping gear.”

The race encompassed 409 miles of flight beginning at Mt. Vernon, IL on Sunday, July 19 and progressing through cross country check points at Dixon, IL, Saux Prairie, WI, Waupaca, WI, and ending with an overhead finish recorded by EAA race officials at Wausau, WI. 

"Next year, I'd like to see a contingent of Meyers 200s in the FAC1RG category so that we can create a race within the race!  These airplanes were built for speed and performance and I can’t think of a better way to show it,” Pruitt said.

Global Parts Group purchased the type certificate and tooling for the half-century old design last year to consider the possibility of limited production after discovering that there were still around 200 of the high performance single engine airplanes in service with performance that is competitive with contemporary Beechcraft Bonanza, Piper Comanche, Mooney, and Cessna Centurion models. The company displayed the winning aircraft at its exhibit throughout AirVenture 2015 in Oshkosh, July 20-26.

(Image provided by Global Parts Group)

FMI: www.globalparts.aero