Local Pilot Wins Reno Gold

If you like high-performance aircraft, it doesn't get much better than the National Championship Air Races held each year at Reno Stead Airport in Nevada. For most pilots the event is known as simply "Reno" and there is a pilgrimage of the faithful each September to the high desert. The races include several days of qualifying rounds, followed by four and a half days of racing in what has been described as "the world's fastest motor sport."

Aircraft are divided into competitive classes. Aircraft in the Unlimited Class, for example, consist almost entirely of stock and modified World War II fighters that reach speeds in excess of 400 miles per hour. Formula One aircraft are all powered by a Continental O-200 engine. The fastest Formula One aircraft reach approximately 250 mph on the 3.12-mile race course, and most Formula One aircraft are built by the pilots that race them.

During the 2015 National Championship Air Races held September 16-20, one of our own pilots won top honors in the Formula One Class. Steve Senegal's AR-6 aircraft "Endeavor" won the race with a speed of 239.432 miles per hour. Check out the happy smiles of Steve and his crew in the photograph that accompanies this article.

"Our congratulations go out to Steve and his crew," says Airport Manager Doug McNeeley. "He is one of a number of based pilots who compete at Reno, and they underscore the wide range of interests and activities at Hayward Executive Airport.”