Designed by Mike Arnold, the AR-6 was built David Hoover, Mike Arnold (fuselage plug), Craig Catto (wings), Robby Grove (landing gear), and Steve Hill (carbon fiber prop).

First flown in March 2005, it was raced by David Hoover at the Reno National Air Races in the Formula 1 class from 2005 to 2007, finishing first in the Gold race in 2007.

It was then owned by Steve Senegal of San Bruno, California. In 2008, Steve piloted the AR-6 to victory in the Gold race and won again in 2010

In 2012, Steve set a new race-lap record of 260 mph, and won the Gold race. In 2014, he set a new qualifying lap record of more than 267 mph and won the Gold race in the Formula 1 class.

On September 18, 2016, about 1118 Pacific daylight time, the Hoover Arnold AR-6, N616DH, struck Reberry 3M1C1R, N913FT, during the takeoff roll at the Reno-Stead Airport (RTS), Reno, Nevada. The AR-6 was registered to the pilot and operated as Race 11. The 3M1C1R was registered to Hot Stuff Air Racing LLC., Kissimmee, Florida, and was operated as Race 1.

The pilot of Race 11 reported that he was in the back row of the Formula 1 staggered start sequence on runway 8. Once he saw the green flag for start, he initiated takeoff and observed both airplanes to the left and right of him accelerating faster than he did. As the tail of the airplane came up, the pilot observed Race 1 stationary on the runway and he attempted to swerve out of the way and get the airplane airborne. Subsequently, Race 11 impacted Race 1.

The pilot of Race 1 reported that he was in the number four position, which was located in the middle row, inside position. He stated that when running the engine up in anticipation of the start, about 20 seconds before the green flag drop, the engine was not running well enough for flight and he made the decision to shut the engine down to signal the starters to halt the starting process. The pilot recalled that a flagman on his row put his hands in an ‘X’ over his head and he decided to open his canopy to make it clear he was out of the race and so everyone could see him. The pilot further reported that an alternate airplane was signaled to taxi on to the runway to replace his entry and that he felt confident the communications had reached the appropriate people as he waited for personnel to push his airplane off the runway. The pilot stated that shortly after, he saw the flagman run out on to the runway waving his hands over his head as if something was wrong and observed the airplane to his right start his takeoff roll. A few seconds later, Race 6 and Race 8 passed by him on either side, and subsequently, he was impacted from behind.

Examination of Race 1 revealed that the upper portion of the rudder and vertical stabilizer were separated. Multiple propeller slash marks were observed on the right wing, which was partially separated. Examination of Race 11 revealed that the left wing was structurally damaged, and the left main landing gear structure was compressed upward through the wing structure.

Onboard video from Race 1, revealed that the camera was mounted in the forward area of the cockpit, providing video of the pilot, and surrounding runway environment, including the third row of airplanes and flaggers adjacent to the third row. About 4 seconds from the start of the video, the engine was heard running erratically. At 11 seconds, the pilot was observed looking to his right and began shutting down the engine along with starting to open the canopy 2 seconds later. Between 16 and 17 seconds, the canopy was opened. At the same time, a flagger was observed on the ramp side of the runway, dropping a white flag, signaling the start of the race to the third row. At 25 to 26 seconds, airplanes were observed passing on both the left and right side of his position, followed by the left wing and landing gear of Race 11 colliding with the empennage and right wing of Race 1 about a second later. It was noted that during the 10 seconds from the canopy opening to the time of the collision, Race 11 was observed drifting slightly left during the takeoff roll.
Accident Number: WPR16LA185A

Hoover AR-6
Engine: Continental O-200
Prop: Carbon fiber, 54- by 68-inch pitch
Wingspan: 24 feet, 4 inches
Empty Weight: 600 pounds
Fuel Capacity: 5.4 gallons
Top Speed: 310 mph at 3,000 feet MSL
Final Approach Speed: 90 mph