Wing Walking - See Also

See Also

There are two types of wing-walkers. One is when a person walks along a wingtip to assist a pilot taxiing on the ground in tight quarters to assure adequate clearance. The second type of a wing-walker is when a person walks on the wings of an aircraft while in flight. When a person is strapped to an aircraft wing in flight they are called wing-riders.

From 1976 until 1995 Jimmy Dorsey walked on the wings of a Boeing Stearman "Miss Piggy". The Federal Aviation Regulations covering seat belts: Part A, require all persons to be secured with a seat belt prior to taking off or landing. Part B: EXCEPT WHEN A CREW MEMBER IS REQUIRED TO BE AWAY FROM THEIR STATION IN ORDER TO PERFORM THEIR DUTIES. Most pilots are not aware of Part B in the regulations. After several years of conflict with the FAA over not using a seat belt, the FAA Administrator issued an advisory that wing-walkers need to be away from their stations in order to wingwalk. Darrell Montgomery flew "Miss Piggy" while Jimmy Dorsey walked out to the right wing tip and sat down outboard of the "N" strut. Their act involved loops, rolls, cuban eights, hammerhead turns and inverted flight while Jimmy sat on the wing tip. Reaching speeds of up to 200 MPH and pulling up to 6 G's the act usually lasted about 15 minutes. As a finale, Jimmy walked back to the fuselage and climbed up onto the top wing and sat on the leading edge as Darrell made a flyby and landing. During their 19 years together, they did TV shows, commercials and over 1,000 airshows. A photographer, Jim Douglas, won 2 Emmys with stories he filmed on the act.

• Aerobatics
• Aerobatic maneuver