WACO Aviation Lecture Series

11 minutes ago

2 min read

November 19, 2026 - WACO Air Museum, Troy, Ohio:

Wing-Riding and Airshow Flying

FAA Charlie Taylor Master Mechanic Award Recognition

Speakers: Bob & Pat Wagner

-Pilots & Former Airshow Performers

TROY, Ohio — The WACO Education Center & Air Museum will welcome Bob and Patty Wagner on Thursday, November 19, for Wing-Riding & Air Show Flying, part of the 2026–2027 WACO Aviation Lecture Series.

For more than three decades, the Wagners thrilled audiences across North America as one of the longest-running wing-riding acts in aviation history. They flew in all 50 states and performed their wing-riding act in 47 states, as well as throughout Canada and internationally in Venezuela. Their signature act, A Girl on the Wing, became a celebrated fixture on the airshow circuit. When they retired in 2003, they were recognized at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh as the world’s longest-running wing-riding duo.

Bob Wagner soloed at age 16 and soon purchased his first aircraft, a WACO Cabin biplane, beginning a lifelong dedication to classic aviation. By the 1960s, he was flying airshows in a WACO YMF-5 and competing in the inaugural Reno Air Races, where he placed fourth in Unlimited Aerobatics and received the Rolly Cole Memorial Trophy as the most outstanding young aerobatic pilot. His career has included aerobatics, flight instruction, aircraft maintenance, flight examiner, and serving as a consultant and test pilot for WACO Classic Aircraft Corporation.

Patty Wagner has been a licensed pilot for more than five decades. She soloed in 1966, earned her private pilot certificate in 1968 and commercial certificate in 1971, and also flew commercially as a ferry pilot. As the wing rider in the Wagners’ act, she performed before millions of spectators while helping preserve the Golden Age tradition of wing riding. She received the FAA Master Pilot Award in 2019.

The Wagners have also played an important role in preserving aviation heritage in Troy. They were instrumental in the development of historic WACO Field and the WACO Air Museum. Patty serves on the museum’s Board of Directors and volunteers in the WACO Education Center, while Bob has served on the museum’s Board and volunteered to fly rides in “Sunny,” a vintage-style WACO YMF-4 biplane. Their contributions to aviation history and preservation have earned them numerous honors, including induction into the Biplane Hall of Fame in 1992.

The November 19 program will offer audiences an opportunity to hear Bob and Patty share stories from their remarkable careers in wing riding, air shows, classic aircraft, and aviation history.

More on the Wagners:

https://www.aviationtrailinc.org/post/girl-on-the-wing

https://www.aviationtrailinc.org/post/three-area-pilots-receive-wright-brothers-master-pilot-award

All aviation lectures are free and open to the public.

Each are scheduled to last one hour, beginning at 7:00pm, with questions to follow.

The lecture is held in the Willis Wing of the WACO Air Museum.

1865 South County Road 25A, Troy, Ohio

Doors open at 6:30pm

Donations to the WACO Air Museum are gratefully accepted.

All lectures are sponsored in part by Collins Aerospace.