| Robert James Moriarty | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 9, 1946[1] Schenectady, NY, USA[1] |
| Nationality | USA |
| Known for | The first man to fly between the pillars of the Eiffel tower[1][2][3][4] |
Robert J. Moriarty is a former American Marine F-4B fighter pilot who recorded over 824 missions in combat. At the age of 20, he was the youngest naval aviator in the Vietnam war. He became a Captain in the Marines at the age of 22.[2][5][6]
He holds 14 International aviation records including Lindbergh's record for time between New York to Paris in two different categories.[5][7] On 31 March 1984 at 11:20, Robert Moriarty flew between the pillars of the Eiffel tower aboard a Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft. When asked why he had done it, he replied: "Just for fun".[1][2][3][4][8]
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"Was it difficult?" "No, you could fly three Bonanzas through wing tip to wing tip."
"Were you scared?" "No, the previous pilot that was killed tried to fly through into the sun. I came from the other way. The TV cameraman was scared, though. But He came along when he saw the large cured ham in the back seat that I was taking to England. He figured if I had a ham, I didn't plan to get hurt."
Moriarity was part of a team in Paris for the Paris-Africa (Race name??) but an engine failure south of Portugal forced him to drop out. After repairing the plane, he made his flight through the arches. "People Magazine" published a picture of the event
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He has a twin brother, James Robert Moriarty.