Pete McLeod
Pete McLeod, BA’07 (Economics), cannot remember a time when he wasn’t flying while growing up in Red Lake, Ont.
The 33-year old Londoner is an accomplished bush pilot, had his pilot’s license at 16, pursued aerial aerobatics at 18, and earned his instructor rating in less than a year. This year, McLeod became the first Canadian to claim an overall podium in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship, taking third place at the season finale in October at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Following successes at the North American Collegiate Championship – all while earning his Economics degree at Western – McLeod competed in classical aerobatics internationally before switching his focus to racing. In 2009, he rewrote history when he became the World Championship Series’ youngest pilot at 25 and became its youngest race winner ever at 30.
