Hartley & Margaret
Performance description (day)
It is unlike any other wing walker act because it is an "in your face" non-aerobatic routine with every pass as low and as close as allowed so that every person in the crowd gets an intimate view of the wing walker’s dance with the wind. Margaret is not a dot on top of the plane against the sky but a seasoned professional performing one of a kind stunts that she created as her experienced pilot, Hartley, sails the plane. Margaret is constantly on the move throughout the entire act, wing walking at least 9 times to different locations on the plane and she incorporates these transition movements as part of a smooth flowing choreography, something no other wing walker in the world is doing. As safety permits the act ends with Margaret raising the flag in flight as a tribute to our troops and veterans.
Aircraft
Stearman Bi-plane
Background
Hartley is a retired airline captain who has logged more than 20,000 flying hours since his first solo in a Piper Cub from a grass field in Missouri. His career began in the Military where he carrier qualed (landed on carriers) and flew F9F-8 cougars. A graduate from the Navy's post graduate safety curriculum in Monterey, California, Harley taught aerodynamics at the Navy's school of command in PensacolaFlorida.
Margaret joined Hartley as a wing walker in 1991. Sport and art are melded as Margaret uses balance and precision to perform her unique artistry on the wing. Some of her stunts are performed in air shows and others for photo work.
Her stunt work includes the sky surf loop, handstand hammerhead, ballet barrel roll, upside down splits, standing splits, Victory pose, back-layout off the back of the wing walking rack, the n-strut "aerobesque" and N-strut hang. She is the first woman to hang below the gear axle since the stunt was first performed in the 1920's. Margaret performed her 1,000 wing walk flight on May 20, 2006.
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