Julie E. Clark (born June 27, 1948) is a retired American

aerobatic 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 ...

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and commercial airline pilot. She started her commercial flying career with Golden West Airlines as a first officer and ended it in 2003 as a Northwest Airlines Airbus A320 Captain. She was one of the first female pilots to work for a major airline, and has been voted as "Performer of the Year" several times for her air show performances.Pioneers

Career

Clark has more than 50 years of flight experience, 41 years as a solo aerobatic-air show pilot as of October 19, 2019,
and 30,000 accident-free hours to her name (34,000 hours as of October 19, 2019). She flew an average of 20 air shows a year in her Juice Plus-sponsored Beechcraft T-34 Mentor, and is rated in more than 66 types of aircraft. She is an enshrined member of the Living Legends of Aviation. Clark received her pilot certificate in 1969 in

San Carlos, California San Carlos (Spanish for "St. Charles") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. The population is 30,722 per the 2020 census. History Native Americans Prior to the Spanish arrival in 1769, the land of San Carlos was occupi ...

. She performed in the same plane from 1977 until 2019, a T-34 Mentor that she bought for $18,000 in Anchorage, Alaska. She named the plane ''Free Spirit'', which went to the Hiller Aviation Museum when she retired. While at the 2019 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air show, Clark announced her plans to retire, with her last performance on November 7, 2019 at Nellis Air Force Base. In December 2018, she received the Sword of Excellence from the International Council of Air Shows, and in 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration's Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.

Family

Clark's father, Captain Ernest Clark, was also an airline pilot. He was murdered in 1964 by a suicidal passenger on Pacific Air Lines Flight 773. All crew and passengers were killed as a result of the passenger shooting both pilots, then himself, causing the plane to crash. Her mother's death just a year earlier, and her father's subsequent death, increased her determination to fly.Rees, Brenda
"With the Kids: Highlights are her career; Julie Clark, joining the show at Edwards Air Force Base, has been pulling stunts for 20 years.
''Los Angeles Times'', 2005. Retrieved: May 22, 2009.

References

External links

News

Display

Julie Clark Airshows

Biography from ''Airport Journals''

Video of Julie Clark performing in her T-34
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Julie 1948 births Living people Aerobatic pilots Aviators from California Commercial aviators American women commercial aviators People from Hayward, California 21st-century American women