STOL Drag Making Aviation History with FAA National Accreditation

In 2019, STOL Drag got its start after becoming the first new race class at the Reno Air Races in almost 20 years. This May, STOL Drag Events LLC., made aviation history after receiving a National Accreditation from the Federal Aviation Administration— allowing them to take their events on the road.

What is it? STOL stands for Short TakeOff/Landing— and a STOL Drag race is when two aircraft fly side-by-side as fast as they can down a 2,000-foot straightaway, land, turn around and race back to land at the finish line.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBy1n4-beL0)

STOL Drag Events carries its own waiver and offers training to any and all new pilots looking to better themselves in Power and Energy management and Directional control.

After successfully completing the training course, pilots can become an official STOL Drag race pilot with race qualifications from the FAA.

CubCrafters is an enthusiastic supporter and sponsor of STOL Drag aircraft racing and believes it provides some of the most exciting and crowd friendly aircraft racing in existence today, it’s accessible to most pilots, and it’s growing and expanding in popularity every year.

STOL Drag is currently the only class at the Reno Air Races to carry its own National Accreditation.

Past and upcoming events include:

  • MayDay STOL Drags — Wayne, Nebraska, May 2021
  • National Championship Air Races— Reno, September 2021
  • Snake River STOL Drags— Ontario, Oregon, Sept.-Oct. 2021
  • World Championships at the High Sierra Fly-in— Oct. 2021

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.