Leonard “Leo” Loudenslager was an American aviator born on January 24, 1944 in Columbus Ohio. He is the only person to have won seven national aerobatic titles and is one of only two Americans to win the World Aerobatics Championship title.
Leo was the son of Harry Cameron Loudenslager and Margaret F (Kirkpatrick) Loudenslager. The family resided in Columbus, Ohio. Loudenslager served in the Air Force as a B-52 mechanic. He was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in 1964 when he took leave to attend the first Reno Air Races, where he was inspired to become a pilot. He took flying lessons at the Travis Air Force Base flight club, where one of his instructors was Dick Rutan. In 1966, he joined American Airlines as a first officer. He worked for them for the rest of his life.
He completed building a Stephens Akro aerobatic plane in 1970 and competed in his first competition the next year. A series of modifications to the plane, tail number N10LL, culminated in the rechristening of the plane as the Laser 200 in 1975. With the Laser 200, he won seven United States Aerobatic Championships and the 1980 World Aerobatics Championship.
Loudenslager also flew in air shows, most notably the Sussex Airshow at his home airport in Sussex County, New Jersey. In addition to his Laser 200, he also flew a Bede BD-5J; both aircraft were sponsored by Bud Light.
In later years, Loudenslager's base of operation was at Thompson's Station, Tennessee, approximately 25 miles from Nashville.
Loudenslager had two children, Kelly and Carolyn, from his marriage to former flight attendant Susan, from whom he was divorced.
On June 28, 1997, a car crossed the center line and collided head-on with his motorcycle on U.S. Route 31 near his home in Tennessee. He died a month later in the hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Loudenslager's plane, the Laser 200, was donated to the Smithsonian in 1999. It was on display at the National Air and Space Museum from October 2001 through April 2003 as part of the Aerobatic Champions temporary exhibit and has been on permanent display in the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center since December 2003. Twenty members of the US House of Representatives signed a letter objecting to the plane's Bud Light emblems remaining on the plane, but the museum stood by its position of not altering artifacts except for repair.
The International Council of Air Shows Foundation maintains a scholarship in his name, which is given in rotation to an enlisted member of the US Navy Blue Angels, the US Air Force Thunderbirds or the Canadian Forces Snowbirds to be used toward the cost of flight training.
Leo Loudenslager Achievements
Awards:
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982: United States Aerobatic Champion
1980: World Aerobatics Champion
1982: New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame
1990: Bill Barber Award for Showmanship, World Airshow News magazine
1990: Clifford W. Henderson Achievement Award, Cleveland National Air Show
1991: ICAS Art Scholl Showmanship Award
1991: International Aerobatics Hall of Fame
1994: ICAS Sword of Excellence
1998: ICAS Air Show Hall of Fame
Victor Award, National Academy of Sports Editors
Leo was the son of Harry Cameron Loudenslager and Margaret F (Kirkpatrick) Loudenslager. The family resided in Columbus, Ohio. Loudenslager served in the Air Force as a B-52 mechanic. He was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in 1964 when he took leave to attend the first Reno Air Races, where he was inspired to become a pilot. He took flying lessons at the Travis Air Force Base flight club, where one of his instructors was Dick Rutan. In 1966, he joined American Airlines as a first officer. He worked for them for the rest of his life.
He completed building a Stephens Akro aerobatic plane in 1970 and competed in his first competition the next year. A series of modifications to the plane, tail number N10LL, culminated in the rechristening of the plane as the Laser 200 in 1975. With the Laser 200, he won seven United States Aerobatic Championships and the 1980 World Aerobatics Championship.
Loudenslager also flew in air shows, most notably the Sussex Airshow at his home airport in Sussex County, New Jersey. In addition to his Laser 200, he also flew a Bede BD-5J; both aircraft were sponsored by Bud Light.
In later years, Loudenslager's base of operation was at Thompson's Station, Tennessee, approximately 25 miles from Nashville.
Loudenslager had two children, Kelly and Carolyn, from his marriage to former flight attendant Susan, from whom he was divorced.
On June 28, 1997, a car crossed the center line and collided head-on with his motorcycle on U.S. Route 31 near his home in Tennessee. He died a month later in the hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Loudenslager's plane, the Laser 200, was donated to the Smithsonian in 1999. It was on display at the National Air and Space Museum from October 2001 through April 2003 as part of the Aerobatic Champions temporary exhibit and has been on permanent display in the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center since December 2003. Twenty members of the US House of Representatives signed a letter objecting to the plane's Bud Light emblems remaining on the plane, but the museum stood by its position of not altering artifacts except for repair.
The International Council of Air Shows Foundation maintains a scholarship in his name, which is given in rotation to an enlisted member of the US Navy Blue Angels, the US Air Force Thunderbirds or the Canadian Forces Snowbirds to be used toward the cost of flight training.
Leo Loudenslager Achievements
Awards:
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982: United States Aerobatic Champion
1980: World Aerobatics Champion
1982: New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame
1990: Bill Barber Award for Showmanship, World Airshow News magazine
1990: Clifford W. Henderson Achievement Award, Cleveland National Air Show
1991: ICAS Art Scholl Showmanship Award
1991: International Aerobatics Hall of Fame
1994: ICAS Sword of Excellence
1998: ICAS Air Show Hall of Fame
Victor Award, National Academy of Sports Editors
Leonard “Leo” Loudenslager was an American aviator born on January 24, 1944 in Columbus Ohio. He is the only person to have won seven national aerobatic titles and is one of only two Americans to win the World Aerobatics Championship title.
Leo was the son of Harry Cameron Loudenslager and Margaret F (Kirkpatrick) Loudenslager. The family resided in Columbus, Ohio. Loudenslager served in the Air Force as a B-52 mechanic. He was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in 1964 when he took leave to attend the first Reno Air Races, where he was inspired to become a pilot. He took flying lessons at the Travis Air Force Base flight club, where one of his instructors was Dick Rutan. In 1966, he joined American Airlines as a first officer. He worked for them for the rest of his life.
He completed building a Stephens Akro aerobatic plane in 1970 and competed in his first competition the next year. A series of modifications to the plane, tail number N10LL, culminated in the rechristening of the plane as the Laser 200 in 1975. With the Laser 200, he won seven United States Aerobatic Championships and the 1980 World Aerobatics Championship.
Loudenslager also flew in air shows, most notably the Sussex Airshow at his home airport in Sussex County, New Jersey. In addition to his Laser 200, he also flew a Bede BD-5J; both aircraft were sponsored by Bud Light.
In later years, Loudenslager's base of operation was at Thompson's Station, Tennessee, approximately 25 miles from Nashville.
Loudenslager had two children, Kelly and Carolyn, from his marriage to former flight attendant Susan, from whom he was divorced.
On June 28, 1997, a car crossed the center line and collided head-on with his motorcycle on U.S. Route 31 near his home in Tennessee. He died a month later in the hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Loudenslager's plane, the Laser 200, was donated to the Smithsonian in 1999. It was on display at the National Air and Space Museum from October 2001 through April 2003 as part of the Aerobatic Champions temporary exhibit and has been on permanent display in the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center since December 2003. Twenty members of the US House of Representatives signed a letter objecting to the plane's Bud Light emblems remaining on the plane, but the museum stood by its position of not altering artifacts except for repair.
The International Council of Air Shows Foundation maintains a scholarship in his name, which is given in rotation to an enlisted member of the US Navy Blue Angels, the US Air Force Thunderbirds or the Canadian Forces Snowbirds to be used toward the cost of flight training.
Leo Loudenslager Achievements
Awards:
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982: United States Aerobatic Champion
1980: World Aerobatics Champion
1982: New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame
1990: Bill Barber Award for Showmanship, World Airshow News magazine
1990: Clifford W. Henderson Achievement Award, Cleveland National Air Show
1991: ICAS Art Scholl Showmanship Award
1991: International Aerobatics Hall of Fame
1994: ICAS Sword of Excellence
1998: ICAS Air Show Hall of Fame
Victor Award, National Academy of Sports Editors
Leo was the son of Harry Cameron Loudenslager and Margaret F (Kirkpatrick) Loudenslager. The family resided in Columbus, Ohio. Loudenslager served in the Air Force as a B-52 mechanic. He was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in 1964 when he took leave to attend the first Reno Air Races, where he was inspired to become a pilot. He took flying lessons at the Travis Air Force Base flight club, where one of his instructors was Dick Rutan. In 1966, he joined American Airlines as a first officer. He worked for them for the rest of his life.
He completed building a Stephens Akro aerobatic plane in 1970 and competed in his first competition the next year. A series of modifications to the plane, tail number N10LL, culminated in the rechristening of the plane as the Laser 200 in 1975. With the Laser 200, he won seven United States Aerobatic Championships and the 1980 World Aerobatics Championship.
Loudenslager also flew in air shows, most notably the Sussex Airshow at his home airport in Sussex County, New Jersey. In addition to his Laser 200, he also flew a Bede BD-5J; both aircraft were sponsored by Bud Light.
In later years, Loudenslager's base of operation was at Thompson's Station, Tennessee, approximately 25 miles from Nashville.
Loudenslager had two children, Kelly and Carolyn, from his marriage to former flight attendant Susan, from whom he was divorced.
On June 28, 1997, a car crossed the center line and collided head-on with his motorcycle on U.S. Route 31 near his home in Tennessee. He died a month later in the hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Loudenslager's plane, the Laser 200, was donated to the Smithsonian in 1999. It was on display at the National Air and Space Museum from October 2001 through April 2003 as part of the Aerobatic Champions temporary exhibit and has been on permanent display in the museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center since December 2003. Twenty members of the US House of Representatives signed a letter objecting to the plane's Bud Light emblems remaining on the plane, but the museum stood by its position of not altering artifacts except for repair.
The International Council of Air Shows Foundation maintains a scholarship in his name, which is given in rotation to an enlisted member of the US Navy Blue Angels, the US Air Force Thunderbirds or the Canadian Forces Snowbirds to be used toward the cost of flight training.
Leo Loudenslager Achievements
Awards:
1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982: United States Aerobatic Champion
1980: World Aerobatics Champion
1982: New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame
1990: Bill Barber Award for Showmanship, World Airshow News magazine
1990: Clifford W. Henderson Achievement Award, Cleveland National Air Show
1991: ICAS Art Scholl Showmanship Award
1991: International Aerobatics Hall of Fame
1994: ICAS Sword of Excellence
1998: ICAS Air Show Hall of Fame
Victor Award, National Academy of Sports Editors
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