SWAN President

Spencer is a high energy fun loving individual who enjoys entertaining the audience with his amazing airplane. His enthusiasm for flight is infectious and explains why so many people enjoy being entertained by Spencer. This high energy persona attracts other pilots to train with Spencer through the Torgoen Academy or simply thrill seekers who want to experience an out of this world adventure and step into the cockpit of the Pitts for the ride of a lifetime!

Spencer's air show performance uniquely showcases the capabilities of the Pitts Biplane with Intense gyroscopic maneuvers like the Inverted Flat Spin with its signature corkscrew smoke trail as the plane drops towards the ground spinning like a frisbee!

For more on Spencer Suderman, visit Spencer Suderman Airshows

SWAN Director

Bill Cornick started flying in the U.S. Air Force in 1953. After serving ten years in the military, he returned to civilian flying as a charter pilot, a flight instructor, and a corporate pilot. Bill joined United Airlines as a flight instructor in 1965. He has logged over 25,000 hours in the air and, until reaching his 60th birthday, Bill was a Captain on Boeing 757's and 767's.

Bill also served for over twenty years as National Judge for the International Aerobatic Club, he is an "ACE" (Air Show Competency Evaluator) for the International Council of Air Shows, and has been designated as a "Master Flight Instructor" by the National Association of Flight Instructors and as a "Master Flight Instructor-Aerobatics" by the National Association of Flight Instructors and the International Aerobatic Club.

For more on Bill Cornick, visit www.billcornick.com

SWAN Director

A proven performer, Dr. Frank Donnelly has flown more than 100 performances at 40 air shows and holds a ground-level waiver. He delivers a slow-motion, captivating aerial display that provides non-stop excitement for everyone.

Inspired by air show great Duane Cole, who wowed spectators flying his clipped-wing Taylorcraft from the 50s to the 80s, Donnelly revived Cole’s act and developed his own style of flying. “I want to show people what an old-time airplane can do and have fun doing it!” he says.

Donnelly’s interest in aviation started young. He was just six years old when his father took him to his first air show, and he yearned to fly from then on. His first flight was in a Piper Cub when he was 10 years old, but it wasn’t until many years later that he earned his private pilot’s license. Today, Donnelly has over 6000 hours and holds commercial pilot single-engine land and private pilot glider ratings, and he’s also certified as a glider tow pilot. He has about 8,000 tows in his logbook.

For more on Frank Donnelly, visit Dr. D's Old-Time Aerobatics

SWAN Director

SWAN Treasurer

For more on Ed Downum, visit the MCAS Miramar AirShow Website