Charlie Hillard (March 22, 1938 – April 16, 1996) was an American

aerobatics 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 "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

pilot, and the first American to win the world aerobatics title. Hillard formed the Red Devils aerobatic team in 1971 with fellow pilots

Gene Soucy Gene Soucy is an American aerobatics pilot. The son of 2 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. Soucy began fl ...

and

Tom Poberezny Thomas Paul Poberezny (October 3, 1946 – July 25, 2022) was an American aerobatic world champion, as well as chairman of the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly-In and Convention (now named AirVenture) from 1977 to 2011 and pr ...

. In 1979 the three re-formed as the Eagles Aerobatic Team, which they would fly as for more than 25 years, setting the record for the longest-running aerobatic team with the same members in the world. In 1996 he was killed at the

Sun 'n Fun Sun ’n Fun Aerospace Expo (officially styled SUN 'n FUN) is a nonprofit organization in Lakeland, Florida dedicated to the promotion of aviation education. It is best known for the annual week-long fly-in and airshow at Lakeland Linder Intern ...

fly-in in Lakeland, Florida, when the

Hawker Sea Fury The Hawker Sea Fury is a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and one of the fastest production single reciprocating engine aircraft e ...

he was flying overturned after landing in a crosswind.

Early life

Charlie R. Hillard was born March 22, 1938, in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

. At the age of 16, he secretly began taking flying lessons, having saved enough money working at his father's car dealership. He would purchase his first airplane, a

Piper Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

a few years later, while attending

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

. In 1958, at the age of 20, Hillard joined the US skydiving team, and became the first person in the US to pass a baton in freefall. The same year, he began flying

at airshows. In 1967, he won the National Aerobatic Championship, In 1970 he competed in the Spinks Akromaster, an aircraft of his own design, and in 1972, won the

World Aerobatics Championship The FAI World Aerobatic Championships (WAC) is a competition in sport aviation organized by CIVA (Commission Internationale de Voltige Arienne), the aerobatic commission of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the world air sports federat ...

, the first American ever to do so.

Eagles Aerobatic Team

Hillard formed the Red Devils Aerobatic Team in 1971, with fellow pilots Gene Soucy and Tom Poberezny. The Red Devils flew the

Pitts Special The Pitts Special (company designations S-1 and S-2) is a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world ae ...

aircraft, and were a popular draw at airshows around the country. In 1979, aircraft designer Frank Christensen invited the team to test fly a new aerobatic aircraft he had designed: the

Christen Eagle The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s. Design Designed to compete with the Pitts Special by Frank Chr ...

. The Devils were so impressed that they switched their team aircraft to the Eagle, and renamed the Red Devils to the Eagles Aerobatic Team, with Charlie Hillard as the lead pilot. The Eagles Aerobatic Team would fly together for more than 25 years, and 1000 performances, setting a record for the longest-running aerobatic team with the same members. During this time, Hillard also flew as a pilot for Hollywood, in the movies Aces: Iron Eagle III and ''

Cloud Dancer ''Cloud Dancer'' is a 1980 aviation drama film directed by Barry Brown. The film stars David Carradine, Jennifer O'Neill and Joseph Bottoms. ''Cloud Dancer'' follows a competition aerobatics pilot throughout his show season. Plot Brad Randolph i ...

'', as well as the TV movie ''Skyward''.

Later career and death

In 1995, the Eagles team disbanded. Hillard began to fly solo performances in a

. It was in this aircraft that he was killed on April 16, 1996, when the aircraft flipped over upon landing, following an aerobatic performance at the

fly-in in Lakeland Florida. He had over 15,000 hours of flight time at the time of his death. Hillard's Sea Fury was rebuilt and is owned by Joe Thibodeau of Denver, who entered the aircraft in the

Reno Air Races The Reno Air Races, officially known as the STIHL National Championship Air Races from 2016, is a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that takes place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada. A ...

Unlimited Class as race #21. His 1931 Great Lakes 2T1E has been restored in 2011 and attends airshows. Hillards' Pitts and Christen Biplanes are on display at the

EAA AirVenture Museum The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

Aviation achievements and awards

*National Aerobatic Champion, 1967 *First American to medal in a world aerobatics championship (Bronze, 1968) *First American to win the World Aerobatic Championship (individual - 1972) *Led the American aerobatics team to two world championships (1970, 1972) *Author of the

Federal Aviation Regulations The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety o ...

for aerobatic competency evaluations (ACE) *Founder of the Aerobatic Club of America *Winner of the ICAS Wilkinson Sword of Excellence, 1983 *International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame, 1990 *ICAS Foundation Air Show Hall of Fame, 1997

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillard, Charlie 1938 births 1996 deaths Aerobatic pilots Aviators from Texas Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in Florida Georgia Tech alumni People from Fort Worth, Texas Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1996

Early life

Eagles Aerobatic Team

Later career and death

Aviation achievements and awards

See also

References