Famous (and infamous) people.. who are pilots

Peter Ha

Peter Ha

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Hey folks,
Reading Tom Cruise is pilot got me wonder what other famous celebrities (or notorious people) ... were pilots?
 
John Travolta, Harrison Ford, Arthur Godfrey, Arnold Palmer, Angelina Jolie...
 
Dave Coulier is pretty active within GA. Recently sold his P35 Bonanza.
 
Jeff Dunham, Dennis Quaid, Phil Mickelson, Morgan Freeman.
 
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Peter Ha said:
Reading Tom Cruise is pilot
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I have to give Cruise a gold star for his ability to accrue over 2000hrs in an Astar helicopter in order to pull off a single flying stunt in a Mission Impossible film. I didn't personally know any of his instructors but do know several pilots familiar with this endeavor and all were very impressed with his skill and determination. Having flown with many stick wigglers, I have to agree with their assessment.
 
Gene Roddenberry
Leonard Nimoy
Michael Dorn
Jimmy Stewart
Bruce Dickinson
David Gilmour
James Horner
Slim Pickens
Jimmy Buffett
 
Wow... had no idea some of these people were pilots!
 
Bruce Dickinson, singer for Iron Maiden, also an ATP. Flew for the airlines and captains “Ed Force One” when maiden is on tour.

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Bill Elliot. Met him once at his hangar. Real nice guy. Was actually in a midair in an F-15 two seater dogfighting an F-16. Lucky to be alive.
 
Bill Glasson. Not very famous be he owned an awesome plane. Talked to him on approach in his Starship going into Hilton Head for the Heritage Golf Tournament.
 
Actor Bob Cummings was the first person ever to be issued a flight instructor certificate by the US Government. He learned to fly in a Travel Air biplane in 1927, instructed by his godfather, one Orville Wright. Cummings owned several airplanes, including a Beech Super 18 and an Aerocar, both of which appeared prominently in his TV sitcoms in the late '50s and early '60s.
 
BrianNC said:
His son Chase also.

Several more NASCAR drivers.
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Yep. Elliot field (5GA) is about 15 miles from my house. Seen a few Citations go in and out of there over the years.
 
Pilawt said:
Actor Bob Cummings was the first person ever to be issued a flight instructor certificate by the US Government. He learned to fly in a Travel Air biplane in 1927, instructed by his godfather, one Orville Wright. Cummings owned several airplanes, including a Beech Super 18 and an Aerocar, both of which appeared prominently in his TV sitcoms in the late '50s and early '60s.
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His full name is Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings
 
Tom Landry, Dwight Eisenhower, both President Bush’s.

but I don’t recognize half the names above.
 
Tantalum said:
Cool! I knew about Lieutenant Worf but had no idea that multiple Star Trek cast members held licenses
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Gene Roddenberry flew bombers in WW2 and was a pilot for Pan Am after the war. No surprise that props like this showed up on screen:

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Leonard Nimoy owned a 1971 Cherokee Arrow 200. It can be seen in family home movies in the documentary "For The Love of Spock" on Netflix.

Bill Shatner also learned to fly during while The Original Series was in production, but I'm not sure he ever got his private license. One of the very early issues of Private Pilot magazine in 1969 had an article entitled "Captain Kirk and The Cardinal," a pilot report on the new C-177A Cardinal through the eyes of newbie pilot Shatner.
 
Steeler coaching legend Chuck Noll, had a Baron IIRC.
 
Pilawt said:
Bill Shatner also learned to fly during while The Original Series was in production, but I'm not sure he ever got his private license.
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Speaking of learning and not getting the license, I remember seeing a program showing Vince Neil lead singer for Mötley Crüe training for his private. He never got it though.
 
Famous folks in radio and TV in the Los Angeles area ... Newsmen Clete Roberts, Hal Fishman and Paul Moyer (Fishman and Moyer are both seen in the film One Six Right), and L.A. Dodgers player and broadcaster Rick Monday.
 
Local here in Atlanta with a talk show that was nationally syndicated, Neil Bortz. He has/had a Mooney.
 
Cecil B. Demille was a pilot and founded an airline back in 1919.

Danny Kaye was a very active pilot and I believe he was part of Learjet.
 
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