Hi, I am new here, I am deaf, and I have always wanted to be a aerobatic pilot since i was like 10 yrs old, i had books about it posters etc.. until then i was told that Deaf people could not fly. i was desvasted (sp). not until like i turned 15 i found out i could fly. but not in a commerical airspace.

For aerobatics flying i watch some videos of Patty, I am wondering the headset, do they just use it for communication to the tower or other planes for traffic reason, or is it connected to a ground crew for instructions what to do? or is it all on the Patty's decision?

I am 26 now, i plan to start taking lessons for flying after christmas break. and after i graduate from college i want to try and take some aerobatics lesson.

what requirements do i have to have in order to become a aerobatic pilot?

thanks for the help

Sammy

• RE: Are there any deaf aerobatic pilots?,Scotia, 18:15z, 12-21-04
• RE: Are there any deaf aerobatic pilots?,Patty_Wagstaff, 00:26z, 05-09-05

Hi Sammy,

As far as I know, there are no insurmountable barriers to your aspiration of becoming an aerobatic pilot.

You might find the following sites to be of interest:

<http://www.deafpilots.com/>

<http://www.faa.gov/avr/afs/deaffaq.cfm>

<http://www.flight48.com/welcome/pilot.html>

<http://query.nytimes.com/search/full-page?res=9C07E6DD1030F937A2575AC0A961958260>

Good luck!

Hi Sammy

I've never heard of any deaf aerobatic pilots, but hey, you'd have an advantage. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if you are deaf, you won't have to worry about losing your hearing from these extremely noisy airplanes
Seriously, though, I cannot think of any reason why deafness should stop you from flying aerobatics. There is a radio rule at competitions now, but if you competed you might ask them to waive the rule for and just use the white box markers on the ground to signal when the box is hot. For Airshow work, you could probably work around it. I'd like to know how it goes for you.

Best of luck
Patty