Category: Airshow Pilots

Rob Harrison received his pilot’s license in 1972 and then bought his first plane for $350!! You’d think being an aerobatic pilot would be enough for a man, but, not if your name is Rob Harrison Rob Harrison would go on to earn a Law Degree. And that’s not all of his accomplishments. It would not be an exaggeration to say Rob Harrison is the Renaissance man of Aerobatic Flying Q – What an impressive biography you have! A – You know what Gary? I’ve been around way too long,…

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Jon Melby bought his first plane when he was only 19! And then he got his pilot’s license in only three weeks! In his first competition with 23 competitors, he came in third. In his next two contests he won first and second place. And when he’s not flying, he’s teaching people how to overcome their fears. We talked with Jon Melby about that and his aerobatic flying.   Q – Jon, you say, “I need to help as many people as I can to manage fear in their lives.”…

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In his life Wayne Handley’s has been a naval aviator, and agricultural pilot and an airshow performer. He started his aerobatic career flying a Pitts Special and transitioned to the Raven in 1990. In 1989, he became the world record holder for inverted flat spins by completing 67 consecutive turns. Not long after he broke his own record with 78 consecutive turns. In 1996, he was presented The Bill Barber Award for Showmanship presented annually by World Airshow News to an airshow performer who has demonstrated superb showmanship ability. In…

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He has been described as a “Sailplane Superstar” and “The King of Sailplane Aerobatics.” And for good reason. Since starting his career flying sailplanes in 1961 at the age of 17 in Hamburg Germany, he’s logged in excess of 5000 flights and accumulated over 2000 hours in at least 60 types of sailplanes. For years he was the only person in North America who competed in glider aerobatic championships. In 1977 he received an award as the “Best Foreign Aerobatic Pilot”. He’s been featured on television shows such as “That’s…

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Matt Younkin is a third-generation pilot. He is the son of legendary airshow pilot Bobby Younkin. Bobby is considered to be one of the greatest airshow pilots of all time. Matt is also the grandson of Jim Younkin who is well known for designing the Century and Trutrak autopilots. Jim is also famous for his antique aircraft restorations as well as building replicas of the 1930s air racers such as The Howard “Mr. Mulligan” and the Travel Air “Mystery Ship”. Matt learned to fly at the age of 14. On…

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His first airshow performance was in 1990. He owns and pilots the Tora 101 plane. We talked with Mr. Jackson about his background and this unique plane he flies. Q – So, you are Douglas “Hollywood” Jackson. A – (Laughs). I’ve been called worse. (Laughs). That actually came out of an interesting little story. When I was flying with the rest of the Japanese replicas, most all of them fly with the commemorative Air Force and do a Pearl Harbor routine. We would fly with eight airplanes and we had…

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Herb Baker is a retired airshow pilot who performed over 300 plus times in 100 plus venues. He never missed a performance in the first 10 years of his career. He developed the “World’s Only Smoking Ring Aerobatics” when he designed and installed a special wing tip smoke system to enhance his performance. And now the Federal Aviation Administration is bestowing two prestigious awards on Herb Baker the Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” award and the Charles Taylor “Master Mechanic” award. We talked to Herb Baker about his career in aviation.…

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Hailing from Masham , Québec, Canada Carol Pilon has been a professional Wingwalker since 2000. She is the first woman and only woman to walk on a jet propelled aircraft. She is the first and only Canadian Wing-walker. She is the first woman, Canadian and Wing-walker to outright own and operate a team in North America. She played an instrumental role in an all-woman Wing-walking team in 2002 and she formed another all woman team in 2011. She performed Wing-walking in the Fox feature presentation of “Amelia”. She was featured…

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She is a six-time recipient of the “First Lady of Aerobatics Betty Skelton Award. In July 2004, she was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the National Air and Space Museum’s Award for Current Achievement in 1994. She also received the Airshow industry’s most prestigious award, the “Sword of Excellence and the Bill Barber Award for showmanship. Recently she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Air Force Association. We are speaking about the one, the only Patty Wagstaff. Q – I…

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Steve Kapur is the Team Spokesperson for the Geico Sky Typers. He’s been with the Geico Sky Typers for over a decade. If you’ve seen the Geico Sky Typers in person, you know you’ve seen a first-class aerobatics demonstration!! Q – Did I see you at this year’s (2016) AirShow at Syracuse Hancock International Airport? A – It was one of the shows that I missed personally, but, the team had a great time from what I heard. Q – You missed it?! A – Yeah. I was home sick…

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