Limitless to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

“It doesn’t seem real, it really doesn’t,” says Justin Meaders when telling us his Formula 1 race plane will be inducted into the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy facilities of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. “How am I remotely worthy of this?”

It’s a fair question for a simple enthusiast from Mineral Springs, Texas, to ask, but then Meaders did build his racing plane and piloted it to the Formula 1 Gold championship three times from a wheelchair. Importantly to us, he and his SR-1.1 Snoshoo, Limitless, won the first time Limitless contested the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada. To win out of the gate in an all-new airplane in the highly competitive F1 class is exceptional.

Limitless‘ record includes three F1 Championships in 2018, 2021, and 2022. It finished second in 2019 and third at the last Reno races in 2023 with an ailing engine.

Meaders retired from air racing in 2023 to concentrate on building and flying backcountry and STOL competition airplanes. Currently, he’s finishing a Badlands Traveller.

Asked by friend Anitra Goddard what he was going to do with his race plane, Meaders said he wasn’t going to race it anytime soon, and he jokingly remarked he should “probably stick it in a museum.” To which Goddard asked, “Which museum?” And keeping with the improbable theme, Meaders laughed, “Well, the Smithsonian, of course.”

Meaders was purely flippant, but Goddard ominously said she had “a friend with contacts there,” and an email was sent. Naturally, there was no reply for quite a while, and then after the idea was past present thinking, the Smithsonian came calling looking for a phone interview. Before Meaders could process the suddenly rapid cascade of interest, the idea was approved. Wow.

Jeremy Kinney, Associate Director of Research and Curatorial Affairs at the museum, specializes in aircraft racing and is excited about adding Limitless to the museum and telling Meaders’ story. His enthusiasm was backed by the museum’s Collection Committee and ultimately its Director.

Meaders is surprised by the eagerness for his plane by the museum, noting he will trailer Limitless to Washington, D.C., next month, where he will unload and assemble Limitless for the last time at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The racer officially goes on permanent exhibition November 10, 2026.

In addition to the aircraft, Meaders is donating one racing trophy, his flight suit, helmet, boots, and a wheelchair. The museum will use these items to outfit a mannequin for display next to Limitless.

Keeping very good company, Limitless will stand on the floor between the tail and right wing of Boeing’s “Dash 80” prototype jet airliner, famously rolled over Seattle by test pilot Tex Johnson. This also puts it in front of the Hughes H1, fellow Formula 1 racer Nemesis, Darryl Greenamyer’s Unlimited Conquest 1, and Biplane racer Beck-Mahoney Sorceress. August company indeed and fitting recognition to the dedication and ingenuity of the American air racer.

About Limitless

Fitted with hand controls for the rudder and brakes, Limitless is a custom fit to Meaders’ lanky frame and is not accessible to pilots used to conventional controls. It features a welded steel-tube fuselage covered in carbon fiber skins, along with a carbon fiber wing.

A list of homebuilding notables assisted in the build. Craig Catto developed and built the carbon fiber wing designed by Paolo Iscold, plus the carbon fiber propeller. A.J. Smith welded the fuselage, while Jon Latall and Alan Van Meter were involved throughout the build, especially the carbon fiber fuselage skins. Meaders, a professional aircraft builder/fabricator, was deeply involved in every part of Limitless’ design and construction and handled all engine building.

Limitless will exhibit essentially unchanged from its racing form. As batteries—especially lithium-ion batteries—are prohibited inside the museum, Meaders’ brother 3D printed inert copies to fit in their normal position low and in front of the pilot’s seat.

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