Michael Goulian

Michael George "Mike" Goulian (born September 4, 1968 in Winthrop, Massachusetts) is an Armenian-American aerobatic national champion aviator who raced in the Red Bull Air Race World Series under the number 99.

Michael Goulian
Goulian in 2010
Born (1968-09-04) September 4, 1968
NationalityUnited States United States
SpouseKarin Goulian
Websitemikegoulian.com

Biography

Goulian racing in London in 2008
Goulian flying his Edge 540 at the 2017 Red Bull Air Race of Chiba

Goulian was born into an aviation business family, which founded Executive Flyers Aviation, one of the largest flying schools in the Northeastern United States in 1964.[1] Michael's father Myron Goulian (also known as "Mike") was an FAA examiner. Michael grew up by washing airplanes and sweeping the hangar floor. He learned to fly before he could drive a car and soloed in a Cessna 150 on his 16th birthday in 1984.

Inspired by the 1980 movie Cloud Dancer,[2] Goulian began his aerobatic training in 1985 during his pilot study. He then established an aerobatic school within Executive Flyers Aviation. While earning his living as a corporate airline pilot, Goulian worked his way toward the top ranks of air show display flying and competition aerobatics and became US National Champion in the Advanced Category at the age of 22, making him the youngest pilot ever to have won that competition.[3] In 1992, he was the top-ranked US male aerobatic pilot and Silver Medalist in the Unlimited Category, an achievement he repeated in 1993. In 1995, he became the US National Champion in the Unlimited Category. He was a member of the US Aerobatic Team in 1994, 1996 and 1998.

In 2006, Goulian was awarded the prestigious Art Scholl Memorial Award for airshow showmanship by the International Council of Airshows (ICAS).

Goulian is co-author of a series of books called Basic and Advanced Aerobatics, published by McGraw Hill, which became the industry standard for aerobatic flight training manuals.

He is the co-founder of two Bedford, Massachusetts, United States-based aviation companies: Linear Air, which offers air taxi services using very light jets and piston-powered aircraft, and Mike Goulian Aviation, which is a Cirrus aircraft training, management and rental company.

In 2021, AOPA named Goulian chairman of its Hat in The Ring Society, a philanthropic foundation that promotes aviation access, safety and education.[4]

He flies a Cirrus SR22T for his business and personal travels,[5] and is an avid skier, ice hockey player and golfer. He has been married to Karin Goulian since 2000, with whom he has one daughter: Emily (born 2006).

Racing record

2004-2010

United States Michael Goulian
at the Red Bull Air Race World Series
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Points Wins Rank
2004 United Kingdom
DNP
Hungary
DNP
United States
4th
3 0 6th
2006 United Arab Emirates
6th
Spain
9th
Germany
5th
Russia
CAN
Turkey
DNS
Hungary
4th
United Kingdom
5th
United States
5th
Australia
6th
11 0 5th
2007 United Arab Emirates
7th
Brazil
DNS
United States
11th
Turkey
7th
Spain
CAN
Switzerland
6th
United Kingdom
DNS
Hungary
9th
Portugal
9th
United States
9th
Mexico
CAN
Australia
2nd
6 0 8th
2008 United Arab Emirates
11th
United States
5th
United States
8th
Sweden
CAN
Netherlands
7th
United Kingdom
11th
Hungary
8th
Portugal
6th
Spain
CAN
Australia
10th
16 0 8th
2009 United Arab Emirates
14th
United States
14th
Canada
6th
Hungary
1st
Portugal
9th
Spain
11th
22 1 10th
2010 United Arab Emirates
4th
Australia
11th
Brazil
8th
Canada
6th
United States
7th
Germany
13th
Hungary
CAN
Portugal
CAN
24 0 9th
Series not held between 2011 and 2013

2014-

Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points Wins Rank
2014 United Arab Emirates
DNS
Croatia
12th
Malaysia
12th
Poland
9th
United Kingdom
12th
United States
11th
United States
10th
Austria
6th
3 0 12th
2015 United Arab Emirates
12th
Japan
6th
Croatia
4th
Hungary
11th
United Kingdom
9th
Austria
7th
United States
9th
United States
6th
13 0 10th
2016 United Arab Emirates
5th
Austria
10th
Japan
13th
Hungary
10th
United Kingdom
4th
Germany
6th
United States
10th
United States
CAN
19.75 0 10th
2017 United Arab Emirates
6th
United States
8th
Japan
5th
Hungary
12th
Russia
3rd
Portugal
10th
Germany
14th
United States
7th
28 0 9th
2018 United Arab Emirates
1st
France
3rd
Japan
2nd
Hungary
4th
Russia
2nd
Austria
12th
United States
1st
United States
8th
73 2 3rd
2019 United Arab Emirates
3rd
21 3rd

Legend:

  • CAN: Cancelled
  • DNP: Did not participate
  • DNS: Did not show
  • DQ: Disqualified
  • NC: Not classified

See also

References

  1. "Executive Flyers Aviation celebrates 50 years". General Aviation News.
  2. Phillip B. Wilson (October 13, 2017). "FAMILY TIES TO AVIATION HELPED AMERICAN GOULIAN TAKE OFF AS A WORLD-CLASS AEROBATIC PILOT". Red Bull Air Race. Retrieved June 3, 2022. What did get his attention was seeing the 1980 movie "Cloud Dancer" about a world champion aerobatic pilot played by actor David Carradine.
    "As a 17-year-old kid, that looked like an athletic thing in the sky, kind of a little dangerous, it looked cool," he said. "I started to take aerobatic lessons, and I just tell people I was too dumb to quit."
  3. "Bremont Watch Company Teams Up with Mike Goulian". 25 July 2013.
  4. Michael Goulian Named Chair of AOPA Foundation's Hat in The Ring Society
  5. "Cirrus Aircraft Announces 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship Sponsorship".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.