Homebuilt Racer's Maiden Flight

After building his own Formula racer, a pilot died Friday on its maiden flight after the aircraft apparently stalled, and went down at the Reno Stead Airport (4SD).

The pilots name was not released by authorities on Friday but eyewitness and friend Juan Redick identified him as Pat Gleason, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

Gleason, who was retired, had housed planes at a Reno Stead hangar for several years.

The official cause of the crash is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration. The National Transportation Safety Board was also contacted after the crash.

There is no official word about what caused the crash at this time.

According to Reno police, the pilot was practicing stalls in the Formula race-style airplane, type unreported, when he couldn't recover from the maneuver. The aircraft impacted the ground nose-first, but did not catch fire.

The crash did not affect airport operations according to Reno Stead Airport spokesman Brian Kulpin.

Redick indicated that Gleason was not familiar with the aircraft. "He wasn't used to the plane," he said. "Instead of trying to get back up to speed, he pulled back."

The single engine aircraft built by Gleason was on its maiden flight Friday afternoon when it went down. Gleason was described as an experienced pilot, according to Redick, who indicated that the builder had rebuilt and tested other aircraft.

"He was a great guy," Redick said. "We're all part of a family here, and this is hard. He would help anyone if they needed it. We lost part of our family today."

Redick, whose father and brothers are pilots said flying is a passion that doesn't waver with the risk of death.

"It's a risk you take, and everyone knows it," Juan Redick said. "It's an aviation thing. If you die doing what you love, what's better? Pat loved airplanes. He didn't need to be here."

FMI: www.faa.gov