Music City STOL 2026 · October 9–10 · Lebanon, Tennessee

Thank you, Lebanon

Rain, wind, the remnants of a hurricane — and you came anyway. Our first event at Lebanon Municipal Airport was one for the books.

See the Photos ↓ Watch the Broadcast Music City STOL 2027 →

Fourth annual Music City STOL · Lebanon, Tennessee ·National STOL Series · A BOLD Aviation event

From BOLD Aviation

We flew anyway.

The forecast for competition day was rain and gusty wind from the remnants of a hurricane. We said we would fly as long as it was safe, and we did. Pilots from across the country put their airplanes on the line, line judges stood in the rain with their flags, and the crowd showed up in rain gear and stayed.

To the fans who came out, the volunteers who made it run, the pilots who flew, and the partners who made it possible: thank you. Music City STOL exists to put young people in the left seat of an airplane, and every ticket, booth and sponsorship this year goes to work on that mission.

We are grateful to the City of Lebanon and Wilson County for welcoming us into their community this year.

Chad & Laciana HallBOLD Aviation · Music City STOL

97K+

Broadcast views

Pilots in 9 classes

Sponsors & partners

40+

Vendors, trucks & displays

N333S lifting off past a line judge in the yellow volunteer shirt

Thank you

It took all of you.

The fansYou bought the tickets, brought the kids and the rain gear, and cheered every landing.

The pilotsThirty-four competitors in nine classes flew a wet, windy course and made it look easy.

The volunteersLine judges, parking crews, gate, merch and flight line. Nothing happens without you.

National STOLAirboss, UNICOM, scoring, the broadcast and the voice of STOL, Ryan Dembroski.

City of Lebanon & Lebanon Municipal AirportOur 2026 host city and host field.

Wilson County CVBOur Runway Sponsor and the people who put Visit Wilco on the runway.

Our sponsorsSeventeen partners who backed the event. See them below.

Vendors & food trucksForty-plus booths, trucks and static displays that made the midway.

Direct Flight Solutions, EAA 863, CAF Music City Wing, Sattler Foundation, Baugh FoundationFuel, hangars, the Friday cookout and the Saturday dinner.

The photographersRachel Baldwin of Cedar & Light Photography, Brian Savage, Tim Lynch Jr. of Shutter the Moments, Tim Fegan Photography, Art Rubin Photography, and everyone who shared their photos from the weekend.

In their words

What people said.

Chad and Anitra and their crew of volunteers made even a wet and windy day into a successful STOL competition, and I really appreciate all who came out. I had an absolutely great time with some great people!

Wayne Smith · Sport Class competitor, third place, Watauga TNFacebook, Oct. 11

It was a little sketchy, my first time flying in the remnants of a hurricane, but the final day of the Music City STOL competition was challenging both in conditions and competitors, and it feels great to have finished up in first place in the Sport class. The margin between first and second was one foot.

David Kerley · Sport Class winner, Spicewood TXFacebook, Oct. 10

Music City STOL was absolutely awesome once again!

Art Rubin Photography · event photographerFacebook, Oct. 10

Nobody out here is pretentious. Everybody's friendly.

Joel Dopson · Backcountry Class competitor, Ooltewah TNNewsChannel 5, Oct. 9

I took Henry to Music City STOL. He has definitely taken an interest in aviation. It's also always great to get to spend quality time with our kids individually.

Jason Daniel Jackson · Music City STOL fanFacebook, Oct. 11

We actually get to see a lot of our alumni, connect with our alumni at it, and they're our biggest word of mouth to students who are interested in our programs.

Briana McDonald · MTSU Department of AerospaceMTSU News, Oct. 5

In the news

Photos

The weekend in pictures.

Friday sunshine, Saturday rain, and airplanes in the air both days. Click any photo to enlarge. Pilots: every competitor our photographers caught is in here. Open a photo for the race number, aircraft and photographer, and email us if you want the full-resolution file.

Race 45 · Rick Holman · Maule MX-7 N61330 touches down in front of the LED wall on competition day

Race 68 · Nick Ardillo · CubCrafters Carbon Cub on short final past the line judges, LED wall behind

Race 333 · Dan Watson · Piper PA-18 N333S taxis past fans under umbrellas

Race 11 · David Kerley · Just Highlander N11HL, the Sport Class winner, airborne over the course

Race 333 · Dan Watson · Piper PA-18 N333S lifts off past a line judge

Calling the action from the announcers' table

A dad and his baby try out the cockpit of a display aircraft

Race 16 · Brad Crawford · Aviat Husky N11HY over the 250-foot marker

The fan zone: tents, chairs and the crowd along the flight line

Race 72 · Wayne Smith · Kitfox 5 N14WY lifting off, third in Sport Class

Race 16 · Brad Crawford · Aviat Husky N11HY over the 150-foot marker in the rain

Race 95 · Matthew Dorssom · Kitfox 4 N95RF 'Maddog' with the shark mouth

Fans pointing out the next aircraft on the course

Magni gyroplane N1777B flying the exhibition Gyro Class

A Magni gyroplane competes in front of the LED wall

Volunteers waving from the Music City STOL merchandise tent

Race 69 · Gary Varga · Rans S-7 N540RL climbing out over the tents

Race 19 · Jeffrey Harrell · Champion Scout N50DT climbing out over the cones

P-51 Mustang 'Old Crow' lifting off from the paved runway

A family picnics on the grass beside the P-38 replica

Race 311 · Tom Pond in the cockpit of the Just SuperSTOL N321E 'Pond Hopper'

P-51 Mustang 'Old Crow' on the static line

The CAF Music City Wing PT-19 on a pass over the field

Spectators settled in along the crowd line on Friday

Race 259 · Phil Shearer · Aviat Husky N259WY on a competition run

Race 7 · Joel Dopson · 1956 Cessna 172 N5122A lifting off

Race 192 · Keith Watts · Cessna 172D N2370U lifting off

Race 45 · Rick Holman · Maule MX-7 N61330 on short final in front of the sponsor wall

The National STOL tents and the Friday crowd

Race 311 · Tom Pond · Just SuperSTOL N321E taxiing in on the grass

Race 86 · Bobby Tishaw · Magni M24 gyroplane N128TM low over the grass

Race 307 · John Douglas · Cessna 182 N182WY 'WYO STOL' airborne

Race 333 · Dan Watson · Piper PA-18 N333S parked on the line

N345PP · Derek Holman (345) / Garrett Holman (89) · Maule MXT-7 on a landing run

Race 828 · Foster Carney · Piper PA-18 N828JP lifting off

Race 154 · Carl Rose · 1940 Piper J-4A NC30985 on the course

Race 260 · Luke Strandlund · Murphy SuperRebel N749DM touching down

CAF Music City Wing trainers on the ramp

Race 124 · Scott Swope · Cessna 172S N124PL lifting off

Race 67 · David Warren · Piper PA-18-150 N51627 lifting off

Race 30 · Brandon Corn · Backcountry Super Cub N24BC flaring over the line as the judges watch

Race 67 · David Warren · Piper PA-18-150 N51627 flaring over the line

Race 68 · Nick Ardillo · CubCrafters Carbon Cub airborne over the crowd

Race 30 · Brandon Corn · Backcountry Super Cub N24BC on the static row

Race 260 · Luke Strandlund · Murphy SuperRebel N749DM climbing over the crowd line

Race 311 · Tom Pond · Just SuperSTOL N321E, strapped in and ready

Kyle LaMontagne · Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee N41383 lifting off

The Wilson County CVB LED wall across the runway

Race 19 · Jeffrey Harrell · Champion Scout N50DT in front of the Baugh Aviation panel

Inside the cockpit of a display aircraft

Race 80 · Gary Soloway · Cessna 305A Bird Dog N5299G rolling out

Race 45 · Rick Holman · Maule MX-7 N61330 lifting off in front of the vendor tents

Race 30 · Brandon Corn · Backcountry Super Cub N24BC low and slow over the course

BOLD Aviation's Aviat Husky on the ramp at Lebanon

Race 11 · David Kerley · Just Highlander N11HL climbing out in Saturday's rain

Race 72 · Wayne Smith · Kitfox 5 N14WY on the grass

Race 95 · Matthew Dorssom · Kitfox 4 N95RF in the rain

Race 69 · Gary Varga · Rans S-7 N540RL on competition day

Race 311 · Tom Pond · Just SuperSTOL N321E climbing past the LED wall

Race 259 · Phil Shearer · Aviat Husky N259WY over the field

Race 7 · Joel Dopson · 1956 Cessna 172 N5122A rolling out

Race 192 · Keith Watts · Cessna 172D N2370U nose-on

Race 260 · Luke Strandlund · Murphy SuperRebel N749DM taxiing past the crowd

Race 30 · Brandon Corn · Backcountry Super Cub N24BC lifting off

Race 307 · John Douglas · Cessna 182 N182WY lifting off in the rain

N345PP · Derek Holman (345) / Garrett Holman (89) · Maule MXT-7 climbing out

Race 45 · Rick Holman · Maule MX-7 N61330 climbing out in the rain

Race 80 · Gary Soloway · Cessna 305A Bird Dog N5299G on the course

Race 828 · Foster Carney · Piper PA-18 N828JP climbing out over the tents

Race 154 · Carl Rose · 1940 Piper J-4A NC30985 taxiing in

Race 124 · Scott Swope · Cessna 172S N124PL in front of the LED wall

Race 86 · Bobby Tishaw · Magni M24 gyroplane N128TM on its run

Race 67 · David Warren · Piper PA-18-150 N51627 on final in the rain

Race 68 · Nick Ardillo · CubCrafters Carbon Cub on the line

Kyle LaMontagne · Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee N41383 climbing out in the rain

Race 19 · Jeffrey Harrell in the cockpit of the Scout

Race 124 · Scott Swope in the cockpit of N124PL

Race 333 · Dan Watson · Piper PA-18 N333S at the 175-foot marker

Race 259 · Phil Shearer · Aviat Husky N259WY lifting off

Photos: Rachel Baldwin / Cedar & Light Photography, Brian Savage, Tim Lynch Jr. / Shutter the Moments, Tim Fegan Photography, and Art Rubin Photography, for Music City STOL. Open any photo to see its credit. Want a high-res file for a story? Email us.

Watch