Robert 'Hoot' Gibson Takes Top Honors In 'Strega'

The 52nd Annual National Championship Air Races came to a close Sunday with Robert “Hoot” Gibson as the winner of the Unlimited Gold Race with a speed of 488.983mph in “Strega.”

Stewart Dawson flying “Rare Bear” was second (471.957) and Dennis Sanders in “Dreadnought” was third (420.361).

Steve Hinton, flying “Voodoo,” and who had won the Unlimited Gold Race the last six years in a row, did not finish the race.

Gibson, 68, is a former American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and a retired NASA astronaut, as well as a professional pilot who currently races regularly at the annual Reno Air Races.

Other results include:

• JET CLASS: Pete Zaccagnino, Vampire. Speed: 502.370
• T-6 CLASS: Dennis Buehn, Midnight Miss. III Speed: 238.073
• SPORT CLASS: John Parker, Blue Thunder II. Speed: 377.403
• BI-PLANE CLASS: Tom Aberle, Phantom. Speed: 245.109
• FORMULA ONE: Steve Senegal, Endeavor. Speed: 239.432

Tom Aberle broke the speed record in his plane, Phantom, in the Biplane class in a qualifying race on Monday, September 14, with a speed of 284.454 mph. The previous record, set in 2014, was 274.091.

(Image from file)

FMI:  www.airrace.org