Augusta, KS, April, 2016—Dr. Jamon Pruitt, a cardiologist from Little Rock, Arkansas, likes flying. He’ll be the first to tell you that he’s a pilot who happens to be a cardiologist—not the other way around. So, last year, when he entered his Meyers 200D in the FAC1RG Class at the 2015 AirVenture Cup Air Race before the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual Fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he was looking for a fun, unique experience. When he and his brother, Dane, the manager of the Saline Regional Airport in Benton, Arkansas won the competition in the FAC1RG category with an average speed of 202.95 mph over the 409 mile course between Mount Vernon, Illinois and Wausau, Wisconsin it turned out to be more than fun, it became an inspiration to other Meyers owners. And, it made such an impression on one avid air racer, he decided he’d like to own one of the high performance singles that were last produced in the late 1960’s.
John Secord has been air racing for a number of years in a variety of aircraft, but Pruitt’s victory peaked his interest in the Meyers. “After Jamon won the FAC1RG Class at the 2015 AirVenuture Cup in his Meyers 200D, I decided I had to have one. The opportunity presented itself in August and I made my move.” Secord, who says he “has been around aviation for a long time” and is part of a “good group of guys who have been racing together for most of that time, too” owns a marketing and digital media company. He was surprised at how little he and his colleagues knew about the Meyers, considering its impressive performance and heritage. “The aircraft I purchased, a M200C, was actually featured in an article of FLYING magazine in March of 1965,” he explained, “but half of the guys I fly with hadn’t heard of the Meyers or didn’t know much about them. I’ve spent a lot of time researching the Meyers history learning about them and I’m committed to promoting awareness of its reputation and its position as a leader on the race circuit, too,” he added.
He plans to do that by entering his airplane, which he is restoring to its original configuration since purchasing it last August, in the Sunshine Express 400 Race prior to Sun ’N Fun on Sunday, April 3 and follow it up with an appearance in the Texoma Air Race in Sherman, Texas on April 16 along with Jamon Pruitt. “We’re hoping to encourage some of our other Meyers 200 owners to join us, as well,” Secord added. “Jamon and I will try to enter as many races as possible and create as much awareness and exposure for the Meyers as we can. We would like to see a contingent of Meyers 200s in the FAC1RG category and the Vintage category and perhaps even a new ‘Challenger’ class 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. We see the obvious potential for the racing success of the Meyers 200s as a re-emergence of the brand and, as we add more Meyers participants to the upcoming races in Galveston, Texas; Abbeville, Louisiana; Terrell, Texas, Urbana, Ohio, and of course, at AirVenture in Oshkosh, we anticipate an increased interest in both the original version of the airplane and the potential updates and improvements being considered by GlobalParts.aero and Interceptor Aviation in the future,” he concluded.
GlobalParts.aero is exhibiting at Sun’N Fun in Lakeland, Florida, April 5-10. Contact Jeff Ellis, vice president of sales in Hangar A Booth 064 for more information on the Meyers Aircraft and GlobalParts.aero’s entire line of products and services.
About GLOBALPARTS Group, Inc.
GlobalParts.aero was founded in 2003 to serve the worldwide aviation spares market with cost effective, quality parts. GlobalParts.aero is a certified distributor of aviation spares and has earned ISO AS9120A and ASA-100 accreditation for quality management systems. Through parts distribution, GlobalParts.aero has evolved and added a Federal Aviation Administration-certified repair station and an in-house, build-to-print part manufacturing capabilities to its operations. The overhaul/ repair service, Global Parts Aero Services, Inc is FAA Part 145 certified and the manufacturing service, Global Parts Aero Manufacturing, Inc. is ISO AS9100C accredited. With the addition of GlobalParts Aero Structures, the GlobalParts Group now includes the GlobalParts.aero parts distribution division, Global Parts Manufacturing, the fabrication segment that was added in 2014, Global Parts Aero Services, Global Parts Properties, which manages the company’s physical assets, and Interceptor Aviation which is responsible for oversight and support of the Meyers Aircraft airframe.