Two Time Reno Air Race Formula One Champion Justin Meaders Joins 2022 STOL Competition Roster

By Anitra Goddard

Justin Meaders, presently the fastest man in the Formula One division at Reno, switches gears for the off-season to expand his competitive endeavors in something very different from his normal pursuits. As the Rookie of the year in 2016 followed shortly thereafter by two gold medals in the Formula One class, Short Take Off & Landing (STOL) is as foreign to him as Michael Phelps entering a synchronized swimming competition.

Justin is all about speed be it motorcycles, handcycling, swimming, wheelchairs or airplanes his competitive nature has taken him all over the world and he’s even been a Para triathlete for Team USA Paralympics for several years before committing to racing airplanes.

It’s about being the fastest he can be regardless of the sport but STOL will be something completely different for him. For the first time he will try to fly as slow as he can and hit the line followed by hard braking to try and achieve the shortest takeoff and landings possible. Not only will he be trying to fly as slow as possible which is challenging enough for most people but he has the additional challenge of managing all the controls with only his hands and fingers. He is a master at manipulating these modified controls in his race plane and this weekend will be the test at doing the same at slow-flight near stall speeds where the rudder will be used much more than when flying fast.

When asked why he has decided to give this sport a try he responded with “ I recently met many of the competitors of STOL and everyone was so friendly and relaxed. The atmosphere is very encouraging of newcomers and I thought it would be a nice change of pace. This season I will be flying a Kitfox model 5 just to try it out and learn as I’m just looking to have fun, get my feet wet, learn what I need to focus on when building my Wild West Aircraft/Just Aircraft Highlander and then hope to come back as a serious competitor in the future.”

At age 22, Justin was road racing when he was thrown head first from his motorcycle at 150mph rendering him a paraplegic. In normal Justin-fashion, upon learning of his new circumstances, he wasted no time trying to immediately get out of the hospital and find his new path. As a para-athlete, Justin has accomplished more since he’s been paralyzed than many so-called “able-bodied” people will in their lifetime.