Charles P. Aaron has been flying helicopters for more than three decades. If it moves at all under rotary wing power, it is a virtual certainty that Aaron has flown it, most likely has instructed in it and may have even helped build it!
The helicopter skills you’ll see in Red Bull’s amazing flying exhibitions are the direct result of Aaron’s spectacular montage of career accomplishments. For example he was the NASA pilot in charge of Space Shuttle Air Rescue Program located at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At the other end of the spectrum he’s also been a crop duster, towed banners, and reported traffic. Every opportunity Charles “Chuck”Aaron could come up with that put him in a helicopter, he took. And when he wasn’t flying them, was fixing them as a certified airframe and power plant mechanic.
FLYING HIGH
More than just a high time pilot (he has more than 17,000 hours of total flight time in helicopters), Charles Aaron is a respected member of the United States’ brain trust of helicopter experts, researching, designing and improving military applications of rotorcraft. He has worked closely with the United States Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of the Army, the Federal Aviation Administration and many, many others. Aaron’s credits include devising a series of upgrades for the Apache and Cobra helicopters, flight testing starlight, infra red and night vision systems plus countless varieties of digital battlefield technology applications.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Aaron came by his love for aviation honestly. His father flew fixed wing aircraft in World War II, the Korean War and later Viet Nam. But much to his father’s chagrin, his son fell in love with helicopters.
“I just liked helicopters more than I liked airplanes because it’s like a magic carpet ride,” Aaron smiles. When Red Bull approached him about trying aerobatics in a helicopter, Aaron immediately knew it was something he wanted to do.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” he says. It took him most of a year to convince the FAA to allow him to perform for Red Bull, but finally, Charles P. Aaron was given the distinction of being the first civilian in the world to receive an aerobatic helicopter license. His father is still scratching his head.
Charles “Chuck” Aaron
