Gus McLeod
Gustavus A. McLeod is an American pilot and author whose exploits have been featured in reality television appearances. He was the first person to fly over the North Pole in an open-cockpit biplane.
Biography
McLeod grew up in Corinth, Mississippi, the son of a Methodist minister. McLeod is a 1976 graduate of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.On April 17, 2000, McLeod became the first person to fly over the North Pole in an open-cockpit biplane.
McLeod is an entrepreneur who, in 2004, lived in Laytonsville, Maryland. However, he was also reported to live in Gaithersburg, Maryland that same year.
McLeod and his wife, Mary, have three children.
McLeod was featured in a four-column article in the Smithsonian in April 2003, because he planned to fly his "...Beech 18 solo from the South Pole to the North Pole, a 32,000 mile trip, in about two months".
The UK aeronautic company Cobham plc reports in an employee newsletter dated June 2005 that McLeod is a former CIA chemist, and is currently a businessman based in Maryland.
Works
- Solo to the Top of the World: Gus McLeod's Daring Record Flight, 2003, 245 pages
Appearances
- Television — Inside Base Camp: Tori Murden and Gus McLeod, 2002
- Television — The Amazing Race 6, 2005
''The Amazing Race''
The Amazing Race 6
In August 2004, McLeod competed on the sixth season of the CBS adventure reality show The Amazing Race with his daughter Hera. They were eliminated at the end of the sixth leg, finishing in seventh place.The Amazing Race 6 finishes
- An italicized placement means it is a Gus and Hera's placement at the midpoint of a double leg.
- A placement with a dagger indicates that Gus and Hera were eliminated.
| Episode | Leg | Destination | Detour choice | Roadblock performance | Placement | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | United States → Iceland | Ice climb/Ice search | No roadblock | 10th of 11 | |
| 2 | 2 | Iceland → Norway | Endurance/Accuracy | Hera | 3rd of 10 | |
| 3 | 3 | Norway → Sweden | Count it/Build it | Gus | 3rd of 9 | |
| 4 | 4 | Sweden → Senegal | Stack 'em up/Pull 'em up | Gus | 7th of 8 | |
| 5 | 5 | Senegal → Germany | Beers/Brats | Hera | 5th of 8 | |
| 6 | 6 | Germany → Hungary | Catapault crash/Cannonball run | Hera | 2nd of 7 | |
| 8 | 6 | Germany → Hungary | Swim/Paddle | Gus |
;Notes