Hubie Tolson

At age 15 while in high school, I took my first ride in a small plane, and to my surprise the pilot did a loop. I was hooked! I stopped everything, went to the airport, and got a job washing airplanes and pumping gas. Instead of money for pay, I took flying lessons. At age 16 I received my private pilot’s license.

Soon after getting my license, I began to teach myself aerobatics from a book. This was a really stupid approach and I was lucky not to have an accident. Somehow I survived, and later in my 16th year, I purchased a small fabric covered airplane, packed my belongings, and ran away from home to join the flying circus.

At first, I was the "gofer", going for this and go for that. Later, I began to ferry the show planes from show to show, and eventually I began to perform simple, non aerobatic acts in shows.

After some time I was drawn to competition aerobatics, first on the regional level in US, and later as I became more proficient, I flew on the national level in US National Aerobatic Championships winning gold, silver and bronze medals.

I later earned a position on the US Aerobatic Team. These positions are only given to the top 5 male and female pilots in USA Nationals competition. This is difficult to achieve because the competition is fierce for these few positions.

I flew world championship competitions in USA, twice in Spain, and in the United Kingdom. I achieved top 5 status in the World Championship Air Show Freestyle event.

I have flown world aerobatic displays in the Brazil, the United Kingdom, twice in Spain, Romania, twice in China, the United Arab Emirates, three times in South Korea and many locations in the USA. In Korea, Romania, China, and the UAE competitions I was honored to be the only American invitee.

I hold commercial, instrument, multi engine airplane and commercial helicopter ratings.

 

Maneuvers

The Final Maneuver in Hubie’s Air Show Performance:
The Finale: Hubie will pull the Sukhoi into a vertical climb at crowd center. While going straight up, Hubie will kill the magneto switches, completely stopping the engine and propeller. The aircraft then slides backwards toward the ground, and as gravity works, the nose swings around the tail. With the prop still stopped, Hubie pushes the airplane along the full length of the show line, inverted, gliding, in total silence. It is a dramatic ending of a breathtaking performance.

Hubie is the only pilot in the world who performs this maneuver.

 

Achievements

Competitive and International Aerobatic Achievements:

  • 5th Overall Unlimited Class Air Show Freestyle 2005 World Aerobatic Championship, Burgos, Spain
  • Silver Medalist 2006 US National Aerobatic Championship Unlimited Division
  • Gold Medalist 2007 US National Aerobatic Championship Unlimited Division
  • 3rd Overall 2008 US National Aerobatic Championship Unlimited Division
  • Bronze Medalist 2008 US National Aerobatic Championship, Unlimited Division
  • Silver Medalist 2008 US National Aerobatic Championship Unlimited Division
  • United States Aerobatic Team Member 2004, ¬2005, 2008, ¬2009
  • Silver Medal 2009 US National Aerobatic Championships Unlimited Division
  • 4th Overall 2009 US National Aerobatic Championships Unlimited Division
  • World Aerobatic Championships:
    • Silverstone, United Kingdom 2009
    • Granada, Spain 2007
    • Burgos, Spain 2005
    • Lakeland, Florida, USA 2003
  • World Elite Aerobatic Formula Championship, Constanta, Romania 2009 (sole American invitee)
  • Seoul, South Korea G-Global Aviation Expo 2010 (sole American invitee)
  • Laiwu, China 2012 China Aerobatic Challenge (sole American invitee)
  • Silver Medal Freestyle, Bronze Medal Overall, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, Desert Challenge 2011 (sole American invitee)
  • Seoul, Korea 2013: G-Global Aviation Expo (sole American invitee)
  • Gyeonggi, Korea 2014 Suwan Air Force Base Exposition And Air Show, (sole American invitee)
  • AVIC General Aviation Forum, Shi Jia Zhuang, China 2016
  • AVIC General Aviation Forum, Jing Men, China 2016