Stihl Competes In Air Races, Wins Award For Aerodynamic Improvements

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Stihl Competes In Air Races, Wins Award For Aerodynamic Improvements

Just when you thought Stihl was all about lawn and garden equipment, they surprise you! Team Stihl, composed of multiple Stihl, Inc. employees, compete each year at at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev. with One Moment Air Racing. The team’s racing plane is called One Moment and bears the distinctive Stihl logo on the fuselage.

Ahead of the big event in Reno, Team Stihl attended the Mojave Experimental Fly-In in April 2015. During this event, Andre Prager, emission engineer at Stihl, Inc. was awarded the 2015 Best Test and Best Build awards by a panel of judges for the work on the Beluga belly modification to the One Moment Lancair Legacy.

The Best Build title is given to the best craftsmanship modification of the year, corresponding to the build quality (aesthetics, schedule, build difficulty). The Best Test titles relates to testing of the modification to the plane including documentation, scope of work and difficulty.

This modification was done with a wide range of tools, including 3D printing, with an overall goal to improve airflow direction on the fuselage aft of the wing.
“Andre embodies the true nature of an experimenter. He has made many components for the race plane but the belly mod highlights his great skill sets in many areas,” said Andrew Findlay, One Moment pilot.

This plane is basically completely awesome, since the team was able to tweak the engine’s power to over 600 HP. The team’s goal is to break 400 MPH in 2015. Can you imagine seeing a plane going 400 MPH?