Wayne Handley

Wayne Handley (born March 26, 1939 in Carmel, California) is an American airshow performer, former naval aviator, agricultural pilot, Aerobatic Competency Evaluator (ACE), and coach for upcoming and current airshow stars. Handley and his wife Karen are former residents of the Salinas Valley of California, who currently reside in Groveland, California. Handley’s father wouldn’t allow him to fly while living under his roof, but in 1957, while attending Hartnell College in Salinas, Handley got in touch with the campus flying club, and took his first lesson in an Aeronca 7AC Champion. Two years later, he had 70 hours in his logbook, left College and enlisted in the US Navy. He trained through propeller-driven aircraft up into the Grumman F9F Cougar and F-11 Tiger carrier-based fighters. In 1963, when faced with the choice of either transitioning into the F-4 Phantom or taking an aerial application job back at home, he chose to be with his family, and started flying agricultural operations in fixed wing aircraft and rotorcraft. Handley began flying aerobatics after taking ownership of a Pitts S-1C in the early 1980s, and entered his first International Aerobatic Club contest in 1983.In 2015, with over 27,000 hours of flight time logged, Handley is a highly respected, record-setting aviator who received the California Agricultural Aircraft Association's Outstanding Airman Award in 1985; the International Aerobatic Club named him the California Unlimited Aerobatic Champion also in 1985, the Bill Barber Award for Showmanship in 1996, the Art Scholl Memorial Showmanship Award in 1997, the Crystal Eagle Award in 2000, and the International Council of Airshows Sword of Excellence in 2001, and induction into the International Council of Airshows Airshow Hall of Fame. In 1989, he set the world records for inverted flat spins, with 67 consecutive revolutions. In April 1999, he beat his own record, with 78 rotations flying a Giles G-202. In 1999, he also set multiple time-to-climb