PATTY WAGSTAFF: Aerobatics Mastery

A six-time member of the US Aerobatic Team, she is the first woman to win the title of US National Aerobatic champion and one of the few people to win it three times. Patty Wagstaff has built a life of adventure, risk, and courage. Following her dreams even when no reward was in sight, her dedication has pushed the limits of aerobatic flight. Wagstaff has earned recognition for her accomplishments as a woman, and as a pilot, flying thrilling low-level aerobatic routines in competitions and air shows before millions of spectators each year. Her breathtaking airshow 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. Patty has flown aerial displays in such exotic places as South and Central America, China, Russia, Europe, Singapore, Kenya and Iceland. She has earned her Commercial, Instrument, Seaplane and Commercial Helicopter Ratings. Patty is a Flight and Instrument Instructor and is rated and qualified to fly everything from World War II fighters to jets.  Patty's is a six-time recipient of the "First Lady of Aerobatics" Betty Skelton Award; an inductee into the National Aviation Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the National Air and Space Museum's Award for Current Achievement. She is proud of receiving the Airshow industry's most prestigious awards, the "ICAS Sword of Excellence", and the "Bill Barber Award for Showmanship". Recently she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Air Force Association. In March, 1994, her airplane, the Goodrich Extra 260, went on display in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC where you can see it on the Mall today. As a member of the Screen Actors Guild, Motion Picture Pilots Association, United Stuntwomen's Association, she has worked as a stunt pilot and aerial coordinator for the film and television industry. In 2013 she returned to Florida to start an aerobatic school, “Patty Wagstaff Aviation Safety” in St. Augustine, Florida.