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Tuesday, 16 April 2013 15:10 |
Pete's Edge 540 outside the hangar at London International Airport (YXU).
You might do a double take the next time you spot Pete’s Edge 540 on the tarmac or in the sky. Over the winter months Pete’s aircraft was fully disassembled and repainted with a stunning new look for the 2013 season.
Some elements from previous designs were incorporated, but for the most part it’s a completely fresh start – incorporating the vision and essence of Pete’s flying style: fast, aggressive, crisp, precise and of course, Max Power!
In a return to the livery from his time in the race track, the large Maple Leaf once again appears on the aircraft tail, a trademark of Pete’s made popular while representing Canada in the Red Bull Air Race. Pete loves the leaf and the leaf is back!
“I’m extremely pleased how the final product turned out,” said McLeod from his hangar in London following a training flight. “The design is very complex when you see it up close, the amount of detail we were able to incorporate is amazing considering its all paint and not decals. It looks like its doing 200mph just sitting there. It looks Max Power!”
In total, countless man hours went into the project between design, disassembly, painting and reassembly.
Pete put the project in the hands of the experts at XU Aviation. XU’s dedicated in-house painter and fabricator ensured the electric new scheme was completed alongside the rigorous annual off-season maintenance program so the Edge would be ready in time for Pete’s preseason training.
Pete would like to extend a huge thanks to all the staff at XU Aviation, especially for the early mornings and late nights in the spray booth to get the job done perfectly! As well as the great work by Apparatus Inc and Auto Trim Design for the creative and process support.
Now that the aircraft is shined up and looking fast, Pete is busy flying and working on preparing a great show for the 2013 season.
Be sure to follow Pete on facebook, twitter and instagram for the latest updates.
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Thursday, 21 March 2013 17:20 |
Despite the delayed arrival of spring weather in most of the country, the 2013 air show season is quickly approaching. After a long Canadian winter, Pete is weeks away from starting his pre-season training flights.
Once again, Pete’s schedule will take him from coast-to-coast over the summer months with stops in northern Ontario and northern British Columbia and as far south as California.
“The schedule really came together nicely for the upcoming season,” said McLeod from his hangar in London, Ontario. “Starting things off with a cross continent flight and performances in California will be a good challenge and ensure the aircraft and I are ready for the busy summer months.”
For 2013, Pete will be performing his aggressive low-level routine in his heavily modified Edge 540. The same aircraft he captured 5th place in 2010 in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship.
In addition to the shows below, Pete is still working with other events to coordinate appearances and expects additional shows to be added in the months ahead.
Although the schedule is filling up, there are still some dates available. If you would like to book Pete for an air show or speaking appearance, CONTACT US.
2013 Air Show Schedule
- May 11 - Glen Helen, CA - Red Bull X-Fighters California
- June 15-16 - Hamilton, ON - Hamilton Air Show
- June 22-23 - Bagotville, QC - Bagotville International Air Show
- June 28-30 - St. Thomas, ON - Great Lakes International Air Show
- July 3 - Kenora, ON - Kenora Air Show
- July 27-28 - Fort St. John, BC - Fort St. John International Air Show
- July 31 & Aug 3 - Vancouver, BC - Celebration of Light
- August 28 - Brantford, ON - Brantford Air Show
- October 8-20 - Grayson County, TX - World Aerobatic Championships
XU Aviation is busy preparing Pete’s Edge 540 for pre-season flying. In addition to regular off season maintenance, the entire aircraft is being repainted, featured an exciting new Red Bull livery – stay tuned for photos!
Pete is also pleased to announce Hamilton Watches has become an official partner for the 2013 season. Hamilton has been a staple timepiece for pilots around the globe for decades and shares Pete’s passion for quality and high performance. Visit Hamilton’s website to view the 2013 collection.
Be sure to follow Pete on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates and additions to the 2013 schedule.
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Wednesday, 19 December 2012 21:00 |
Red Bull Air Race pilots Nigel Lamb, Kirby Chambliss, Pete McLeod, Michael Goulian & Yoshi Muroya at ICAS 2012.
Pete attended the International Council of Air Shows annual convention in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Paris Hotel and Convention Centre last week. 2012 marked Pete’s 6th time attending the largest annual gathering of air shows performers and organizers.
“Attending the ICAS convention is always a fun and productive time,” said McLeod following the show from Red Lake, Ontario. “Air shows in North America are spread out from coast-to-coast, border-to-border, so it’s always great to get everyone in the same room for a few days to meet and start planning the next season of shows.”
The convention week was packed with seminars and forums to address issues related to the air show industry. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds and CF-18 demonstration teams announced the full 2013 schedules and Pete signed contracts to perform along side them at various shows.
Pete also had the opportunity to meet with fellow Red Bull Air Race pilots Nigel Lamb, Kirby Chambliss, Michael Goulian and Yohsi Muroya during ICAS.
“It was great to see the other race pilots and get caught up on a lot of topics – most notably the future of the world championship. Hopefully the next time we’re all together again we will be in the race track and not a convention centre!”
A core management team is continuing to work on the potential re-launch of the Red Bull Air Race.
Be sure to check back in early 2013 for updates and the Pete’s full 2013 schedule.
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Tuesday, 30 October 2012 21:00 |
Throughout the year, Pete receives e-mails and questions from fans across Canada and around the globe. Most are aviation questions, but some are lifestyle questions too.
Pete took a few minutes to collect the most popular questions from the past year and answer them for everyone.
“I really enjoy meeting new people, whether they are pilots, fans or just decided to come out to a show or send an email.” said McLeod from his hangar in London, Ontario. “You never know what people are going to ask when your meet them, we get a few fun questions from the website and Facebook page too.”
Flying:
- Total flight hours: 2300
- Favourite aircraft flown: Edge 540 V3
- Number of landings: over 7000
- Continents flown up-side-down in: 5
- License held: Commercial
- In-Flight Emergencies: 8
- Nights spent sleeping in a hangar or airplane: Enough…
- Must haves in the cockpit: Sunglasses, camera, Cliff Bar
- Navigation system: Garmin 396, iPad with Foreflight, paper charts (old school maps!)
- Tower with the best controllers: The guys and girls at CYXU are always great!
- Biggest challenge flying: In Canada, it’s the weather for sure.
- Worst landing: Many years ago bush flying. Aircraft was fine but I learned a good lesson that day!
- Where
did you learn to fly: My Dad taught me to fly, but I got my license at
Harv’s Air in Manitoba. That’s also where I first flew aerobatics.
- When is Red Bull Air Race returning: Good Question! They are working hard on it I hear…so I hope soon! I miss the race track!
Flying Commercial
- Favourite airline: Air Canada (international), West Jet or Southwest (domestic)
- Favourite airliner: Boeing 777 First Class
- Favourite airport (domestic): Vancouver
- Favourite airport (international): Frankfurt
- Favourite lounge: Toronto’s Maple Leaf Lounge (international)
- Aisle or Window: Window
- Long haul flight strategy: Eat, sleep, drink lots of water, and have a Red Bull ready for arrival.
General Questions
- Favourite TV Show: Archer and Boardwalk Empire
- Car: Toyota Tacoma
- BlackBerry or iPhone: Have been a Blackberry guy for years. iPhone is temping though
- Hockey Team: Pittsburg Penguins
- Pets: 1 Tea-Cup Poodle
- Vacation destinations: Red Lake, San Diego, anywhere where I can hunt or fish.
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