Cover Story: Highly Awarded Aerobatic Pilot, Wagstaff Lives Her Dream

This shot was taken during a photo shoot with Patty Wagstaff over St. Augustine Florida. To get the shot Mike Shore, the photographer, said, “We took the door off of the airplane we were shooting from and Patty pulled her plane up in close formation and maneuvered so we could get the shot we needed.” Typically they work between six and 20-feet apart in two separate aircraft. (Courtesy Mike Shore / mikeshorephoto.com)The Wings Club, the latest in a series of aviation organizations, will honor Patty Wagstaff, champion aerobatic pilot, with their fourth annual Outstanding Aviator Award.

The Outstanding Aviator Award was created by the Wings Club in partnership with the International Aviation Women’s Association (IAWA) in order to recognize pilots who have made major contributions to aviation.
The presentation of this year’s award will take place at The Wings Club’s Annual Meeting on March 27 in New York City. Along with IAWA board members, Ken Gazzola, past president and chairman of the Historical and Education Committee will present the award to Wagstaff, who will be in attendance.

Wagstaff, dubbed “Dare Devil/ Aerobatic Pilot” was inducted in the International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame in 2005, the Air Show Hall of Fame in 2006 and the International Aerospace Hall of Fame in 2007. Having received many awards for her flying, she is particularly proud of receiving 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, was inducted into the EAA/IAC Hall of Fame. A six-time member of the US Aerobatic Team, Wagstaff has won the gold, silver and bronze medals in Olympic-level international aerobatic competition and is the first woman to win the title of US National Aerobatic champion and one of the few people to win it three times.

Wagstaff flies one of the most thrilling, low-level aerobatic demonstrations in the world. Flying before millions of people each year, her breathtaking performances give airshow spectators a front-row-seat view of the precision and complexity of modern, unlimited hard-core aerobatics. Her smooth aggressive style sets the standard for performers the world over.

Born in the USA, Wagstaff grew up in and around airplanes. With her family, she moved to Japan when she was nine years old where her father was a Captain for Japan Air Lines. Her earliest memories include sitting with her father at the controls of his airplanes. At ten years old when her father let her take the controls of his DC-6, her lifelong love affair with airplanes began.

Wagstaff’s first experience with bush flying was not a positive one. The first airplane she chartered for her job crashed on their first flight. So Patty decided to learn to fly herself, hiring friend and later husband, Bob, to travel with her in his Cessna 185 floatplane. Since then she earned her Commercial, Instrument, Seaplane and Commercial Helicopter Ratings. She is a Flight and Instrument Instructor and is rated and qualified to fly many airplanes, from World War II fighters to jets.

Though she had never seen aerobatics, a lifelong curiosity led her to attend her first Airshow in British Columbia in 1983, where she saw aerobatic pilots perform and promised herself, “I can do that!” By 1985, five years after gaining her pilot’s license, she earned a spot on the US Aerobatic Team.

Wagstaff is sponsored by Champion Aerospace Inc. manufacturer of high-performance aviation quality spark plugs, harnesses and oil filters and Cannon Aviation Insurance,where the customer is always the first priority. She is also sponsored by Sarasota Avionics International who meets her avionics needs; Textron Lycoming who makes her engine; MT Propeller who provides the propeller for it. She also has had long-time support from Shell Oil, Bose Headsets, Goodyear Tire Corporation, National Parachutes, Concorde Battery and Lord Corporation. Additionally, she is supported by Microsoft and you can fly her Extra 300S, which is featured on the famed Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Patty Wagstaff Airshows, Inc. is based in St. Augustine, Florida. For more information, see her website, www.pattywagstaff.com