STOL Drag: Where Bush Flying Meets Full-Throttle Racing

Good morning! I recently met Charlie Gasmire at AirVenture this year, and he’s one of those guys you instantly like—a fellow pilot who’s all about helping others succeed in aviation. You might know him from his Airplane Academy YouTube channel, but he’s also the creator of the Private Pilot Flashcards.

These things are seriously useful. Over 145 five-star reviews back it up — they break down everything you need to know into clear, bite-sized pieces you can study anywhere.

I’m not getting paid to say this — I just think they’re a great resource for any pilot. You can check them out here: shop.airplaneacademy.com/products/private-pilot-flashcards 🛩️

-Rob Roy

In today’s email:

• Shorter, Faster, Louder: The Sport That’s Redefining STOL

• Around the Skies: Navy unveils solar-powered Skydweller, Upgraded Fire Boss takes flight, Bombardier expands U.S. service network, Tech glitch grounds United flights last week, AvNav adds AI flight assistant, NASA teams up with Reliable Robotics

• PilotTube: The Race to Revive Supersonic Flight

THE BUSINESS OF AVIATION

STOL Drag: The Wild Sport That’s Redefining Air Racing

Short takeoff and landing—better known as STOL—has always been a proving ground for pilots who thrive where the runway ends and the adventure begins. Once the realm of bush pilots threading into remote backcountry strips, STOL has morphed into something faster, louder and a whole lot more thrilling: STOL Drag. Think drag racing with wings—2,000 feet at full throttle, a screeching stop, a quick pivot and then back to the finish in a head-to-head sprint. It’s equal parts precision flying, mechanical muscle and pure adrenaline.

Founded by backcountry legend Kevin Quinn at the High Sierra Fly-In, STOL Drag caught the eye of the legendary Reno Air Races and by 2020 became their first new racing class in nearly two decades. (Kevin and I haven’t met yet, but I have a feeling we’ll be great friends one day… he just doesn’t know it yet.) And one of these days, you’ll see me out there competing too—probably grinning like a fool the whole way down the course.

Now, National STOL has taken the show on the road, turning small-town airports into high-octane arenas from Wisconsin to Oregon. Crowds pack the fence line, kids under 12 get in free and the roar of a Bearhawk or a Carbon Cub blasting down the course is as much about inspiring the next generation as it is about thrilling the pilots watching from the sidelines.

But beneath the grit and spectacle lies a laser focus on safety. Every STOL Drag pilot runs through an FAA-accredited training program—two days of mastering spot landings, wringing every ounce of performance from their aircraft and keeping total control even when the adrenaline’s spiking. Air bosses and ground crews run the event like clockwork—launching one aircraft as another lands, never breaking the flow. Any team member can stop the race if something’s off, whether it’s debris on the runway or a mechanical hiccup.

The competition is a perfect storm of innovation and skill. Some pilots chase raw horsepower, others strip weight until there’s barely more than an engine and wings left. You’ll see superchargers, wing extensions, giant tundra tires and more than a few creative tweaks that push airplanes to their absolute limits. But the real secret? Practice—hours of measuring takeoffs and landings down to the foot, flying on the edge of the envelope and learning exactly how to make your machine dance. In STOL Drag, it doesn’t matter if you’re flying a $500,000 rocket ship or a $50,000 vintage taildragger—if you’ve got the guts, the skill and a taste for speed, the race is yours for the taking.

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AROUND THE SKIES

🛩️ The U.S. Navy and Skydweller Aero just pulled off an impressive feat with their solar-powered drone, completing a nine-day test that included a 73-hour nonstop flight. With a 747-sized wingspan covered in solar panels, the Skydweller drone recharges by day and flies through the night—no runway required. Designed for persistent surveillance, it can potentially stay airborne for up to 90 days, making it a game-changer for border security and rapid-response missions. It's a bold leap forward in autonomous flight where sunlight fuels both power and possibility.

🛩️ Fire Boss is back with a bold round of upgrades, making its amphibious air tanker lighter, tougher and easier to maintain. Redesigned floats, a single-piece nose fork and a relocated hydraulic pump improve balance and performance, while eco-friendly steel ballast and a lithium-ion battery bring modern efficiency to the mix. Built on the proven AT-802A, the Fire Boss remains a fast, fierce force in the fight against wildfires.

🛩️ Bombardier is gearing up to expand its U.S. service network, adding new locations and boosting its workforce to support a growing fleet and the upcoming launch of the Global 8000. The multiyear plan includes hiring technicians, growing apprenticeship programs and strengthening support in key regions. With the Global 8000 poised to become the fastest civilian jet since the Concorde, Bombardier is positioning itself to meet demand with speed, scale and precision.

🛩️ United Airlines flights resumed last week after a tech glitch in its weight and balance system triggered a nationwide ground stop Wednesday evening. The issue began around 6 p.m. ET and caused widespread delays at major hubs including Chicago, Denver and San Francisco, ultimately affecting more than 1,400 flights. United confirmed the problem was not a cyberattack and had it resolved within a few hours. The FAA and Transportation Department treated the outage as an isolated incident and worked with United to help clear the backlog.

🛩️ AvNav unveiled a major upgrade at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025, introducing ClearSky AI—a flight planning assistant that predicts VFR and IFR windows up to 10 days in advance. The release also features a revamped 3D terrain and satellite map engine with GPU-accelerated performance and hybrid overlays for smoother planning. By integrating AI, terrain data, weather modeling and radio transcription into a single platform, AvNav aims to streamline the EFB experience for general aviation pilots. The app runs on iPad, Android and web, with pricing at $184.95 per year or $19.95 per month.

🛩️NASA has partnered with Reliable Robotics to accelerate the integration of large unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System. The collaboration will focus on advanced simulations and flight scenarios, including detect-and-avoid capabilities, lost link procedures and airport operations. It builds on previous joint research and reflects a shared commitment to developing safe, scalable frameworks for autonomous cargo and transport aircraft. As demand for unmanned flight grows, this partnership marks a pivotal move toward operational readiness.

PilotTube

It’s been 20 years since anyone but a fighter pilot has gone supersonic, and the Concorde now rests in museums—a relic of an age that prized speed over efficiency. Now, aerospace companies are pouring billions into bringing commercial Mach travel back. But as Business Insider’s Daniel Allen reports, the road to supersonic is steep, with costs, regulations and technology hurdles making it one of aviation’s boldest challenges yet.

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