Gene Soucy

Gene Soucy

Gene Soucy is an American aerobatics pilot. The son of 2 pilots, he would wash airplanes at a local airport in exchange for flight time while growing up in Kentucky. cite web|url=http://articles.latimes.com/2000/apr/07/local/me-16885|title=Air Show Pilot Has Attitude at Altitude|publisher=Los Angeles Times|date=2007-04-07|accessdate=2008-09-27] He soloed in a glider at age 14, and in a regular airplane at 16.

Soucy began flying professionally in airshows in 1968, and in 1972 qualified for a place on the U.S. aerobatics team. That year he was the youngest competitor flying at the World championships in England. cite web|url=http://www.airventure.org/2006/performers/gene_soucy.html|title=EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Air Show Performers - Gene Soucy|publisher=Experimental Aircraft Association|accessdate=2008-09-27] He placed 6th overall, and contributed to the U.S. team winning the World championship for the first time.

Eagles Aerobatic Team

In 1971, he partnered with Charlie Hillard and Tom Poberezny to form the Red Devils Aerobatic Team, flying the Pitts Special. In 1979, aircraft designer Frank Christensen invited the team to test fly a new aerobatic aircraft he had designed: the Christen Eagle. The Devils were so impressed that they switched their team aircraft to the Eagle, and renamed the Red Devils to the Eagles Aerobatic Team, cite web|url=http://www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com/Aircraft/Eagle/Page1.html|title=Christen Eagle|accessdate=2008-09-26] with Hillard as the lead pilot. The Eagles Aerobatic Team would fly together for more than 25 years, and 1000 performances, setting a record for the longest running aerobatic team with the same members. cite web| last =| first =| authorlink =| coauthors =| title = Charlie Hillard, Air Show Hall of Fame| work =| publisher =| date =| url = http://www.icasfoundation.org/hall_fame/1997/hf_hillard.htm| format =| doi = | accessdate =2008-07-11 ]

Other acts

During his career with the Eagles, Soucy began to develop a new aircraft to fly in airshows. He had a Grumman Ag Cat cropduster modified for a Wing walking act, and named the aircraft the Showcat. His partner and girlfriend Teresa Stokes performs as the wing walker while Soucy takes the Showcat through various aerobatic maneuvers. The Showcat is also configured with pyrotechnics, used as part of a nighttime aerobatic show. After the Eagles team disbanded in 1995, Soucy began performing solo aerobatic in an Extra 300S, in addition to his Showcat performances.

Personal life

In 2002, he began to show signs of kidney disease, and in 2003 underwent a kidney transplant. Teresa Stokes was the donor, after Soucy's siblings proved to not be able to donate. cite web|url=http://www.umm.edu/transplant/gene_teresa.htm|title=Airshow pilot back in the skies after kidney transplant operation|publisher=University of Maryland Medical Center|accessdate=2008-09-27] He was back flying at airshows 3 months after the operation.

Soucy has also flown as a stunt pilot for serval motion pictures and TV movies. His credits include , where he flew with Charlie Hillard, and "The Pancho Barnes Story". cite web|url=http://movies.nytimes.com/person/1196438/Gene-Soucy/filmography|title=Gene Soucy Filmography|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2008-09-27]

Soucy has 2 daughters, and currently lives in St. Augustine, Florida. In addition to his airshow performances, he is a pilot with Northwest Airlines.

External links

[http://www.genesoucy.com/ Gene Soucy Airshows]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Charlie Hillard — (March 22, 1938 – April 16, 1996) was an American aerobatics pilot, and the first American to win the world aerobatics title.[1] Hillard formed the Red Devils aerobatic team in 1971 with fellow pilots Gene Soucy and Tom Poberezny. In 1979 the… …   Wikipedia

  • Cleveland National Air Show — The United States Army Parachute Team makes an appearance at the air show. The Cleveland National Air Show is an annual air show held on Labor Day weekend at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 as an indirect… …   Wikipedia

  • Masters of Disaster — Team website The Masters of Disaster are an airshow team that performs edge of your seat aerobatics in combination with ground based jet propelled trucks and pyrotechnics. The show did include at one time a jet propelled biplane. The team lost… …   Wikipedia

  • Sussex Airshow — The Sussex Airshow, also known as The Biggest Little Airshow was run out of Sussex Airport in Sussex, NJ for about 40 years from 1964 to 2004. The show ended primarily due to the retirement of the Airport s owner/operator Paul Styger. The show… …   Wikipedia

  • Aviat Eagle II — Eagle II Role Aerobatic aircraft Manufacturer Christen, Aviat, homebuilt …   Wikipedia

  • Campeonato Mundial de Vuelo Acrobático — El Campeonato del Mundo de Vuelo Acrobático (FAI World Aerobatic Championships) es una competición de acrobacia aérea que comenzó en 1960 en Bratislava,antigua Checoslovaquia. A partir de entonces se adoptó el Diccionario Aerocriptográfico Aresti …   Wikipedia Español

  • FAI World Aerobatic Championships — Le FAI World Aerobatic Championships (WAC) est une compétition dans l aviation sportive organisée par la Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, la Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. Sommaire 1 Histoire 2 Gagnants de la Coupe Aresti 3… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • FAI World Aerobatic Championships — (WAC) является конкуренция в спортивной авиации организован Международной авиационной федерации, мир воздуха спортивной федерации. КАМ был создан в 1960 году, заменив фристайл Lockheed Trophy соревнований. Содержание 1 Победители Aresti Cup 2… …   Википедия

  • New Hampshire House of Representatives — New Hampshire General Court Type Type …   Wikipedia

  • SULT1A1 — Sulfotransferase family, cytosolic, 1A, phenol preferring, member 1, also known as SULT1A1, is a human gene.cite web | title = Entrez Gene: SULT1A1 sulfotransferase family, cytosolic, 1A, phenol preferring, member 1| url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”