Patty Wagstaff (
née Patricia Rosalie Kearns Combs; born September 11, 1951) is an American aviator and U.S. national
aerobatic champion.
Wagstaff was introduced to aviation as a child; her father was a pilot for
Japan Airlines
, also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
. After graduating from high school in California, she moved to Australia for five years where she traveled up the west coast of Australia in a small single-engine boat with no radio. After moving to Alaska in 1978, she worked for the Bristol Bay Native Association in
Dillingham, Alaska
Dillingham ( esu, Curyung; russian: Диллингхем ), also known as Curyung, is a city in Dillingham Census Area, Alaska, United States. Incorporated in 1963, it is an important commercial fishing port on Nushagak Bay. As of the 2020 c ...
where she started taking flying lessons and began her own career as a pilot. Her first flight in a small airplane in the Alaskan bush ended in a crash and that was when she decided to learn to fly. Her first lesson was in a
Cessna 185
The Cessna 185 Skywagon is a six-seat, single-engined, general aviation light aircraft manufactured by Cessna. It first flew as a prototype in July 1960, with the first production model completed in March 1961. The Cessna 185 is a high-winge ...
. After earning her single and multi-engine land, single engine sea and commercial and instrument ratings, she became a Certified Flight and Instrument Instructor. Since then Wagstaff has earned a commercial rotorcraft rating and has flown many types of aircraft. She holds type ratings in the
TBM Avenger,
T-28
The T-28 was a Soviet multi-turreted medium tank. The prototype was completed in 1931, and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry support tank intended to break through fortified defences. The T-28 was designed to complement the hea ...
,
L-39 and
Tucano. Her sister, Toni, is a pilot for
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. .
[Patty Wagstaff]
, International Council of Air Shows Foundation Hall of Fame, accessed April 4, 2010.
In 1985, Wagstaff qualified for the US National Aerobatic Team and competed both nationally and internationally until 1996. She was the top U.S. medal winner, winning gold, silver, and bronze medals in international competitions for several years. In 1991, she won her first of three US National Aerobatic Championships, the first woman to win that competition. She was the
International Aerobatic Club The International Aerobatic Club (IAC) is a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the National Aeronautics Association (NAA). It promotes aerobatics and governs the sport of competition aerobatics in the United States under ...
champion in 1993. The following year, her
Goodrich-sponsored Extra 260 airplane was put on display next to
Amelia Earhart's
Lockheed Vega
The Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to the rugged and very l ...
at the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's
National Air and Space Museum. From 1988 to 1994, she won the
Betty Skelton First Lady of Aerobatics award six times in a row. In 1996, Wagstaff was the top-scoring US pilot at the
World Aerobatics Championship. That year, she was also the first person to win the
Charlie Hillard Trophy, awarded to the highest scoring U.S. pilot at the World Aerobatic Championships.
In 1997, Wagstaff received her first Hall of Fame inductions, becoming inducted into both the
Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame and the International Women's Aviation Hall of Fame. She was awarded the
National Aeronautic Association
The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...
Paul Tissandier Diploma in 1997 and won the
Bill Barber Award for sportsmanship in 1998. In 2001, Wagstaff began training pilots of the
Kenya Wildlife Service
Kenya Wildlife Service is a state corporation under the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife established by an act of Parliament; Wildlife Conservation and Management Act CAP 376, of 1989, now repealed and replaced by the Wildlife Conservation and Ma ...
in Kenya. In 2002, she won the
Katherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
and
Marjorie Stinson
Marjorie Claire Stinson (July 5, 1895 – April 15, 1975) was an American aviator, airmail pilot, pilot instructor, and stunt pilot.
She trained at the Wright Flying School, and earned her Fédération Aéronautique Internationale license in 191 ...
Award, and in 2004, was elected into what is arguably aviation's most prestigious hall, the
National Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...
.
[Wagstaff, Patricia "Patty"]
National Aviation Hall of Fame. In December 2006, she was inducted into the International Council of Air Shows Foundation Hall of Fame
[ and in 2007, the International Air and Space Hall of Fame at the ]San Diego Air and Space Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM, formerly the San Diego Aerospace Museum) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, United States. The museum is located in Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building, ...
.
Based in St. Augustine, Florida, Patty Wagstaff Aviation Safety, LLC trains pilots from all over the world in aerobatics, airmanship and upset training. She continues working in the aviation field as an airshow pilot, stunt pilot for films, consultant, flight instructor, and writer. Wagstaff is emeritus board member of the Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum, and was on the Presidential Advisory Committee to the Centennial of Flight Commission
The U. S. Centennial of Flight Commission (CoFC or CofF Commission) was created in 1999, by the U.S. Congress, to serve as a national and international source of information about activities commemorating the centennial of the Wright brothers' fi ...
. She flies airshows across North America in a variety of airplanes, including an Extra 300S, T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air force ...
, and a P-51 Mustang. In addition to airshows, she has flown OV-10 Bronco
The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco is an American twin-turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed in the 1960s as a special aircraft for counter-insurgency (COIN) combat, and one of its primary missions was as a f ...
s as a seasonal aerial firefighter director in California. She is an instrument-rated pilot and has owned a Beechcraft Baron
The Beechcraft Baron is a light twin-engined piston aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft was introduced in 1961. A low-wing monoplane developed from the Travel Air, it remains in production.
Design and development
The d ...
and a Cirrus SR22
The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built from 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota.
It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a more powerful, 310-horsepo ...
and currently flies a Beechcraft Bonanza.
Wagstaff has been featured numerous times in Microsoft's ''Flight Simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
'' series.
Awards and honors
* Inducted in 2004 into the National Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...
* Recipient of the 2006 Philip J. Klass Award for Lifetime Achievement
* Recipient of the Outstanding Aviator Award in 2013, presented by the Wings Club of New York[Honors and Elections, ''Aviation Week & Space Technology'', March 18, 2013, p. 10]
References
External links
2011 article in ''Air & Space/Smithsonian'' magazine
Patty Wagstaff Airshows, Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagstaff, Patty
1951 births
Living people
Aerobatic pilots
American women aviators
Aviators from Missouri
National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees
People from St. Augustine, Florida
21st-century American women