FAAs Woman National Aerobatic Champion
| The first woman to win the title of U.S. National Aerobatic Champion, Patty Wagstaff has won gold, silver, and bronze medals in Olympic-level international aerobatic competition. ?A six-time member of the U.S. Aerobatic Team, Patty is the three-time U.S. National Aerobatic Champion, the 1993 IAC Champion and a six time recipient of the “First Lady of Aerobatics” Betty Skelton Award. She has trained with the Russian Aerobatic Team in the Soviet Union and continues to coaches aerobatic competitors from around-the-world. Her breathtaking low-level air show performances give spectators a front row view of the precision and complexity of unlimited aerobatics. In March of 1994 her airplane, the BF Goodrich Aerospace Extra 260, was placed on exhibit in the National Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. In the Pioneers of Flight Gallery, Patty’s airplane and exhibit may be viewed next to Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega and the Lockheed Sirius flown by Anne and Charles Lindbergh. Flying gave me the confidence I lacked for many years. It also made me realize what I was capable of if I desired it. I realized that if ?they could do it, I could do it.? It not only gave me confidence, but focus and direction. I had to take it seriously, and I had to succeed. There are not too many other sports/activities that demand so much from a person, and give so much in return. . . The most gratifying experience is nailing a maneuver. The most difficult is doing it a thousand times before getting it. To learn more about Patty Wagstaff, read her book Fire and Air, with Ann Lewis Cooper or visit www.pattywagstaff.com |