Encounters With Arrogant Celebrity Pilots

[Lead Sled]

I believe that it was Danny Kay who got his initial PPL in a Beech Queen Air. Wayne Osmond (the singer) has a CFI. Dwight D. Eisenhower had a PPL.

 

[Andy Neill]

Another big star from that era was Bob Cummings. He was taught to fly by his godfather, Orville Wright. He flew in WW2 and throughout his life . I can't confirm it but I recall hearing that Bob owned one of the few flying cars ever built.

That is mentioned in the website below. It's next to the first drawing.

http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/AC/aircraft/Aerocar/info/info.htm

 

[BigPhil]

Does anyone know what ever happened to the crew on Ricky Nelson's DC-3? I remember that they crawled out the roof hatch and sustained minor injuries, but did they continue to fly? Inquiring minds want to know.....

 

[DrProc]

Met Arnold Palmer in his Citation X (N1AP), real nice guy--flying from the left seat if memory serves me.

If you visit the FBO in PA (I think it is Latrobe, if my memory is correct) where Palmer keeps his aircraft, you can give them your name and address, and he will send you an autographed photo of himself.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

If you visit the FBO in PA (I think it is Latrobe, if my memory is correct) where Palmer keeps his aircraft, you can give them your name and address, and he will send you an autographed photo of himself.

He is typed (as a private pilot) in his X. He does fly it in the left seat.
I'm not sure about the signed pic. I worked at the FBO (Vee Neal) for a year, it is Latrobe, PA. However I think he switched to the other FBO (LJ Aviation). Maybe they give out the pictures or maybe I just didn't pay enough attention to it when I worked there. Golf really doesn't interest me at all. Now when I got to pass Steve Yzerman on a ramp, that was neat.

 

[BigPhil]

Gene Autry/Cliff robertson

Looking for these celeb pilots is kinda fun: Gene Autry flew AT-6s,7s,11s,C-104s,and C-109s for three years during WW2. He was making $600,000/year when he joined up (big bucks in 1942). I found evidence that he owned " a couple of Beechcraft" in 1955. I'm sure he was well fixed for wings all his life with his far flung business interest...............Found an interesting site on actor Cliff Robertson, www.go-star.com/antiquing/cliffrobertson.htm. He owns a lot of planes......

 

[FLYnMONKEYS]

Oh I forgot...Kenny G (soprano sax player) has a Beaver on floats. I kid you not.

Who would have ever thought that Kenny G and Beaver would ever be used in the same sentence? Starfish I could see but not Beaver.

 

[Princedietrich]

Can't say I've had the privelage of flying with any celebrities, but I have served as a ramp-rat for a few and witnessed others from afar.

As a ramp rat at KBKL, I first met Bill Cower (I think that's his name but not totally sure, the coach of the Steelers) as he got out of a Citation for the annual Steelers/Browns "grudge lunch" in 99.

Then I got to "meet" John Travolta once. I was at the bottom of the steps of his Gulfstream right after it landed, had the carpet laid out per standard procedure but had no clue who was on board. Saw this guy come down the steps, wearing sunglasses and a ballcap, and I gave the usual "welcome to Cleveland, how can I help you today" spiel. He said thanks and gave a "top it off" fuel order, then hopped in a black SUV and took off. I didn't even know it was him until I heard the voice, and it was confirmed later with airport ops. I guess he was in town for a funeral or something.

For you wrestling fans out there, WCW was in Cleveland one night in May 99 and there was word that "one of the wrestlers" was flying in to our facility. I saw Doug Dillinger, the head of security for WCW, waiting in our lobby. Unfortunately when the plane came in (it was a C210) I was on the other side of the airport and didn't see who was in it. The next morning after the show, I got on shift at 7am and was told that "the gentleman" would like the C210 pulled out. As I was pulling it out of the hangar I saw two guys standing off to the side wearing black WCW polo shirts and ballcaps and drinking coffee. One was a wrestler, think his stage name was Kanyon if anyone remembers him, and the other was WCW president Eric Bischoff. I made some very idle chat with Bischoff as he was asking for an oil funnel, then he got in the pilot seat and blasted off.

One sunday I was working by myself and was accosted by an extremely rude celebrity assistant/manager type who DEMANDED a deli tray of sandwiches RIGHT NOW! I tried telling him that we need 2 hours notice on all catering (hey, you gotta cook the stuff right?) but he said RIGHT NOW! I called our emergency weekend catering guy and got some sandwiches made up, then delivered them to the door of a King Air on the ramp. Three guys were inside just hanging out and were very thankful for the food that I dropped off. It turns out that it was the Offspring in town for a concert, and as they left the lead singer Dexter was in the left seat. I remember wondering how he got a pair of David Clarks on with all those earrings.

There was a day when Archbishop Desmond Tutu was in town for some event, and his Citation was on the ramp by the KBKL terminal. I remember going down there to marshal it out, I stuck my head in to ask the pilots when the ARchbishop would be arriving. The copilot looked at me and then pointed, I turned around and saw the mayor of Cleveland and the ARchbishop and about 50 MILLION reporters rushing towards me about 10 feet away. I scurried out of the way, pulled the carpet, pulled the chocks, and marshalled it away. Apparently I got on the news that night according to my buddy in airport ops.

Then there was the time Iron Maiden was in town for a show. A C421 came in and went to the customs ramp, I then had to go down and retreive it to bring back to our hangar. Bruce Dickinson, the lead singer, owned the plane and was the pilot and he used the plane to fly the band around on tours. He was also partaking of the avionics shop in our facility and had his plane there for about a month. But that first night, I remember walking through the hangar and seeing this short scruffly lookin British dude raiding our vending machines. Turns out it was Bruce, and my manager (a HUGE Maiden fan) and I invited him to join us at the grill. We hauled out the grill and had some hot dogs with him as he told us tour stories. Very cool guy, easy to talk to. later on after he left, two boxes were sent to the line shack with our names on them. They contained a copy of Maiden's latest CD autographed and personallized by the whole band.

During the Cleveland Airshow I got to meet several of the airshow pilots. Jimmy Franklin, Sean Tucker (a total jerk), Jene Soucy, and several others. Got them all to autograph my logbook.

I was off for the holidays over New Year's Eve but I'd heard that Metallica was going to be in Cleveland for a concert, I remembered thinking it would be awesome if they would use our FBO. Well it turns out they did, showed up in a GIV. The lineman on duty at the time was able to con the pilot into giving him his backstage pass to the show, so he went. Unfortunately for him, the backstage pass happened to be a PHOTO ID and a security troll caught him after a song and a half.

During my time at KBKL we also did charter services for several NBA and MLB teams. Nobody really worth mentioning, and the tips were horrible. But on those nights there was usually a boatload of high quality catering left over and we all ate like kings.



As a flight instructor I was working out of Million Air at KLUK in Cincinnati. There I got to meet or see several celebs including Jimmy Buffett, Jeff Foxworthy (real friendly guy), Ted Nugent (he arrived in a ratty looking blue Baron), and KISS (arrived 2 hours late in a shoddy looking GII).

Edited to correct spelling errors

 

[Limeyflyer]

I met Jack Hanna the Animal Guy in Butler PA. He got off his Limo with his pilots and before he got on his Pilatus that he was flying in, took pictures with the limo driver, said hi to us and was very pleasant. Not to mention his six pack of Coors in his hand with a couple missing. Seemed like a cool guy to fly.

 

[xshuttlefa]

If you visit the FBO in PA (I think it is Latrobe, if my memory is correct) where Palmer keeps his aircraft, you can give them your name and address, and he will send you an autographed photo of himself.

They love Arnie so much there, the airport is officially known as Palmer Regional Airport (still KLBE though)

 

[Ezralite]

The guy who played Gentle Ben tried to get me to take an illegal 135 in a friends airplane.

Well, considering that Gentle Ben was a bear, that must have been a pretty scary experience.

 

[Cassive Mock]

Years ago a buddy of mine flew Mel Gibson out to the set of "Forever Young". Said Mel was the coolest guy he had ever met. Evidently back at the airport after the filming session Mel bought beer for some of the crew and invited my buddy along. Right on, Riggs!

When I was in class for my B737 type (which BTW still hasn't gotten me a call from SWA) I met the Marine who flew the Harrier for the "True Lies" sequence. Said Jamie Lee Curtis is REALLY flirty and pretty cool.

As far as I'm concerned, Andie McDowell can just catch on fire. Not only is she a royal beee-otch, she's a total wierdo.

Bob Hoover - super gentleman.

 

[Murdoughnut]

On a AA flight from DFW to CMH I sat in the back of the plane with David Carradine (Kill Bill, Kung Fu, etc.) He was travelling with a couple of guys, and they all looked stoned out of their mind. I didn't say anything to him just because I figure they enjoy being left alone.

The next night I was on a first date with the woman whose now my wife. We were sitting in the bar at the Hilton and I was telling her the story of how I sat next to the "grasshopper". Someone was playing piano in the bar, and as he finished, everyone clapped. Turning around, I noticed that it was him! I came up to him and asked him "are you following me"? I explained to him that I had sat near him on the AA flight the night before. I don't think he remembered, but he was a nice guy. He was there for a comic book convention.

 

[FlyingFisherman]

Ever see Cloud Dancer?

David Carradine with the likes of Leo Loudenslager and Charlie Hilliard. Good flying in that flick.

 

[Murdoughnut]

I didn't see that one, I'll have to check it out - thanks!

 

[Lilah]

There is some very good flying in that flick. It's not that easy to find. Your local video store won't have it, it's out of print, and the major online sources don't have it either. Good Luck.

Lilah

 

[MACH-TUCK]

I've encountered several a$$hole celebrities, but they've all been my passengers. Not many celebrities I can think of are pilots anyway. Let's see, Ford, Patrick Swayze, Christopher Reeve, John Travolta, Cliff Robertson, Kurt Russell, Charlton Heston- anyone else?

Tom Cruise flew into my local FBO once in a Pitts...Dont know if it was his or not, but he sure thought he was gods gift to aviation. Told me "not to scratch the paint on the plane" as I was fueling it. I asked him if he wanted to fuel it himself...(Prick)

 

[FlyingFisherman]

There is some very good flying in that flick. It's not that easy to find. Your local video store won't have it, it's out of print, and the major online sources don't have it either. Good Luck.

Lilah

Amazon.com has it. It'll cost a bit but its worth it. VHS only.

 

[RJP]

I met Jack Hanna the Animal Guy in Butler PA. He got off his Limo with his pilots and before he got on his Pilatus that he was flying in, took pictures with the limo driver, said hi to us and was very pleasant. Not to mention his six pack of Coors in his hand with a couple missing. Seemed like a cool guy to fly.

Limey, I can't believe you stole my avatar.

 

[Limeyflyer]

My bad, way too many Borats out there!!!