TORONTO - The cockpit of Pete McLeod's aerobatic plane is not exactly the most comfortable place to be. With no air conditioning, it feels scorching hot - even more so underneath a heavy fire-proof flight suit. The deadening drone of the engine drowns out nearly all other sounds and the vibration is rattling the pilot strapped snugly in the seat.
As McLeod slices through the air with his plane at speeds of up to 370 km/h, he blocks out the world passing by below him and focuses on getting around the 20-metre high obstacle cones as fast and as accurately as possible.
McLeod is more than a decade younger than the next youngest rookie in the series. The 24-year-old Ontario resident is the first Canadian and the youngest pilot ever to compete in the Red Bull Air Race world championship, and he says he's living his dream.
"I think it's huge to show, on the world stage, what Canada has to offer," he told CP24.com in an interview Wednesday. "I'm happy to be racing."
The Red Lake, Ont. native enters the 2009 season after years of competing in lower levels of the sport - which he admits doesn't get a whole lot of attention in Canada. But he hopes that having a Canadian in the running next year will change things.
McLeod says he hopes that with an increase in interest, young people in Canada will have someone to look up to.
Appearing relaxed while at CP24, McLeod says he first learned how to fly at age six, got his private licence at age 16 - before he even got his driver's licence - and got his commercial licence when he was 18.
While he's been competing in aerobatics over the past five years, he says he finally earned his Super Licence - which allows him to race in the Red Bull World Championship - this year.
"It's life-changing news," he says.
The University of Western Ontario economics grad and his team now have a lot of preparation to do before the race season kicks off next year, including finding sponsors.
"It's not cheap, the costs are tremendous," he says, adding that fuel is the most inexpensive aspect.
Last season, the Red Bull Air Race series stopped in Abu Dhabi, London and Budapest, just to name a few spots.
The closest it came to a Canadian city was during an event across from Windsor, Ont., in Detroit.
But despite the exotic locations, McLeod's favourite place to fly is at home in Ontario near Red Lake, over terrain spotted with lakes and blanketed in trees.
"It's just untouched wilderness," he says.
And hopefully, he says, having a Canadian team in the championship might eventually lead to Red Bull races closer to home.
