Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment, and sport. Additionally, some helicopters, such as the MBB Bo 105, are capable of limited aerobatic manoeuvres. An example of a fully aerobatic helicopter, capable of performing loops and rolls, is the Westland Lynx.
Patty Wagstaff is an American aviator and U.S. national aerobatic champion.
The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) is a federally recognized 501c3 whose mission is to advance and oversee the advancement of the art, sport, and science of aviation and space flight. The NAA achieves this by fostering opportunities to participate fully in aviation activities and promoting public understanding of the importance of aviation and space flight in the United States.
Curtis Hardeman Pitts was an American aircraft designer, aircraft manufacturer, crop duster, and airport fixed-base operator. He became widely known and revered in the aerobatics community for his design of the Pitts Special, a series of highly aerobatic biplanes. Pitts Specials dominated aerobatic competition from the 1960's to the 1970's. Though later outclassed by newer monoplane designs, Pitts Specials remain popular as sport airplanes for their excellent flying qualities. The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC has called Curtis Pitts' design "revolutionary because of its small size, light weight, short wingspan and extreme agility".
The French Connection was a famous husband-wife aerobatic pair that performed in countless airshows throughout North America for almost 30 years. The pair consisted of Daniel Héligoin, a former French Air Force fighter pilot and aerobatic champion, and Montaine Mallet, an aeronautical engineer and his assistant who later became his wife. Both Daniel and Montaine were French-born; they came to the U.S. from France in 1973 to promote and sell their aerobatic plane, the CAP-10, manufactured by Avions Mudry in France. They operated an aerobatics school at Sky Acres Airport, NY, Dutchess County Airport, NY, then at Flagler County Airport, FL. They regularly performed at airshows around the U.S. and Canada until their death in a training accident on May 27, 2000. Their favorite and signature 'French Connection' aerobatic routine was unique: Montaine and Daniel would fly their CAP-10 planes in an extremely tight canopy-to-canopy formation, literally inches apart, through various hair-raising aerobatic maneuvers. Daniel and Montaine loved to teach, and they devoted much of their careers to aerobatic instruction. The "French Connection Scholarship" fund was established in their name via the International Council of Air Shows Foundation.
Michael George "Mike" Goulian is an American aerobatic national champion aviator who raced in the Red Bull Air Race World Series under the number 99.
Glen Dell was a South African commercial airline trainer and aerobatics pilot, who was qualified to race in the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in seasons 2008 and 2009.
Nancy A. Lynn was an aerobatic pilot, flight instructor, and air show performer. She owned and operated Lynn Aviation, an aerobatic flight school located at Bay Bridge Airport in Stevensville, Maryland, with her husband Scott Muntean and son Pete.
Sean Doherty Tucker is an American world champion aerobatic aviator. He was previously sponsored by the Oracle Corporation for many years, performing in air shows worldwide as "Team Oracle". Tucker has won numerous air show championship competitions throughout his career, was named one of the 25 "Living Legends of Flight" by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in 2003, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008. He has led several efforts to assist youth in learning to fly or becoming involved in general aviation, and currently serves as co-chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'s Young Eagles program, a role he has held since 2013.
Leo Loudenslager was an American aviator. He is one of two aviators to have won seven national aerobatic titles and is one of only three Americans to win the World Aerobatics Championship title.
Charlie Hillard was an American aerobatics pilot, and the first American to win the world aerobatics title.
Gene Soucy is an American aerobatics pilot. The son of two pilots, he would wash airplanes at a local airport in exchange for flight time while growing up in Kentucky. He soloed in a glider at age 14, and in a regular airplane at 16.
Vicki Cruse was an American aerobatic pilot and administrator. She won the U.S. national unlimited aerobatic title in 2007 out of a field of 101 participants. It was only the fourth time that a woman had become the national champion.
Betty Skelton Frankman Erde was a land speed record holder and aerobatics pilot who set 17 aviation and automobile records. She was known as "The First Lady of Firsts", and helped create opportunities for women in aviation, auto racing, astronautics, and advertising.
William Lewis "Skip" Stewart, better known as Skip Stewart, is an aerobatic and commercial pilot from the United States. Stewart flies in airshows in the United States and abroad, in his two highly modified Pitts muscle biplanes.
Debbie Gary Callier is an American air show pilot. She began flying at age nineteen, and was the first woman to fly in a formation aerobatic team. She also wrote the Bellanca Pilot Proficiency Training Manual.
Melissa Dawn Burns, also known as Melissa Andrzejewski, is an American extreme sports athlete best known for being an aerobatics pilot, skydiver, B.A.S.E jumper, climber and technical scuba diver. She has won awards at home and internationally for her aerobatics and competitive flying. Melissa works internationally as an airshow display pilot and skydiver.
Rob Holland is a highly accomplished aerobatic pilot from the United States. currently residing in Nashua, New Hampshire. Holland is one of the most decorated aerobatic pilots in U.S. history, with an impressive list of accomplishments that includes multiple championship titles and groundbreaking innovations in the field of aerobatics.
Doris Estella (Rhoads) Lockness was a pioneering American aviator. Two of her sons, Dave Rhodes and Ron Rhoads were Olympic cyclists.
Jimmy Marshall Franklin was an American aerobatic pilot. He performed at airshows, both solo and as part of teams, for over 38 years until his death at an airshow in Moose Jaw. Born and raised in Lovington, New Mexico, Franklin learned to fly at age 8 and bought his first airplane at 19 and flew his first airshow the same year.
