Charlie Kulp

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Charlie Kulp, aka the "Flying Farmer" (born on September 20, 1925), is a retired aerobatic pilot.^[1] He has performed a comedy aerobatic routine every Sunday at the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Virginia for the past 35 years, and has averaged 36 performances a year for the past 12 years, demonstrating his skillful aerobatic routine to thousands of airshow goers.

Background

Born in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, Kulp was a Navy mechanic in the Pacific during World War II. He received his wings in July 1943 after taking lessons in Roanoke, Virginia. A former mechanic for Capital Airlines, Charlie managed small airports in Maryland and Virginia before joining the Flying Circus Airshow, of which he is a founding member. Here, when not on the airshow circuit, he has performed every Sunday afternoon from May to October; donning paint-spattered denim overalls, sneakers, porkpie hat, walking cane and long gray beard. Throughout his career as the Flying Farmer, Kulp has flown a standard 65 horsepower (48 kW) Piper J-3 Cub, unchanged and unmodified since it was manufactured in 1946. Thousands have learned to fly in these basic trainers manufactured before and after World War II. In 1993 Charlie took his act to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, the nation’s largest airshow, for the “EAA Gateway to Aviation Classic.” In 2000, Charlie performed at the nation’s second largest airshow, “Sun ‘n’ Fun.” As well as performing all across the United States, he has performed at civilian and military airshows in Great Britain and Canada. Throughout his career in aviation, he has been the focus of countless newspaper articles and has been featured on the Discovery Wings Channel. In addition to his airshow work, Charlie is a member of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Aviation Historic Society and an FAA-certified flight instructor. In 2000, he received the Charles Taylor award from the FAA as a 50-year A&P mechanic.

On November 8, 1997, Charlie “The Flying Farmer” Kulp was inducted into the Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame. At 82 years of age, Kulp still flew his routine every Sunday at the Flying Circus Airshow. On October 28, 2007, Charlie Kulp flew his amazing aerobatic comedy routine one last time at the Flying Circus before retiring.

References

↑ Norton, Tom (January 25, 2008). "The Flying Farmer’s last show". General Aviation News. Retrieved 29 May 2010.

v t e Aerobatics

Aircraft	List of aerobatic aircraft

Competitions	European Gliding Championships FAI European Aerobatic Championships FAI World Aerobatic Championships FAI World Grand Prix Red Bull Air Race World Championship World Gliding Championships

Maneuvers	Loop (Inside & Outside) Aileron roll Barrel roll Cuban Eight Falling Leaf Hesitation roll Immelmann turn Kulbit Lomcevak Pugachev's Cobra Slip Spin Split S Stall Turn/Hammerhead Tailslide The Scissors Whifferdill turn Zurabatic Cartwheel

Organizations	British Aerobatic Association Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (Aresti Catalog) International Aerobatic Club International Miniature Aerobatic Club

Pilots	Cecilia R. Aragon Hannes Arch Princess Basmah Bani Ahmad Lincoln J. Beachey Péter Besenyei Ladislav Bezák Marta Bohn-Meyer Paul Bonhomme Pip Borrman Kirby Chambliss Julie Clark Marion Cole Vicki Cruse Mario de Bernardi Glen Dell Matthias Dolderer Wilhelm Düerkop Walter Extra Markus Feyerabend Gerhard Fieseler Jozef Gabris Michael Goulian Matt Hall Wayne Handley Ray Hanna Charlie Hillard Bob Hoover Bevo Howard Petr Jirmus Steve Jones Jurgis Kairys Georgij Kaminski Svetlana Kapanina Sándor Katona Charlie Kulp Anatoly Kvochur Nigel Lamb Jim LeRoy Leo Loudenslager Nancy Lynn Alejandro Maclean Pete McLeod Jerzy Makula Stanisław Makula Mikhail Mamistov Mike Mangold Scott Manning Catherine Maunoury Neil Williams Pyotr Nesterov Alexandr Panfierov Ivy May Pearce Adolphe Pégoud František Peřina Tom Poberezny Maciej Pospieszyński Sergey Rakhmanin Amelia Reid Olaf Schmidt Art Scholl Klaus Schrodt Betty Skelton Erde Skip Stewart Martin Šonka Gene Soucy Chris Sperou Victor Tchmal Reinhold Tiling Ferenc Tóth Sean D. Tucker Nick Turvey Ernst Udet Gabor Varga Frank Versteegh Patty Wagstaff Kermit Weeks Walter Wolfrum Janusz Żurakowski

Other	3D Radio control Virtual Festival of Aerobatic Teams

Persondata
Name	Kulp, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 20, 1925
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

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