AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021 - 112

PILOTS ACTOR PILOT

James Brolin
An earthquake stirred an interest in flight
BARRY SCHIFF

112 | AOPA PILOT March 2021

private pilot, single-engine land
FAVORITE AIRCRAFT | Cessna 185 Skywagon
modified with a Robertson STOL kit.
EXTRA | Brolin played Marine Col. Bill Kelly,
commanding officer of an F/A-18 training
squadron, in the TV series Pensacola: Wings
of Gold.

director-says that he most enjoys practicing takeoffs and landings. " I actually prefer
that to going places, " he says.
During a trip to Valdez, Alaska, in 2015,
he became enamored with ultra-STOL
aircraft, those fascinating little machines
that take off and land in what seems
like no space at all. He purchased a Just
SuperSTOL XL kit, which he is building
with Billy Payne of Plane Fun Aircraft in
North Carolina.
One of his disappointments has been
his inability to convince his wife, Barbra
Streisand, to fly with him. The closest he
ever came was when she agreed to join him
for dinner in the cockpit of his Skywagon.
There they sat enjoying a Japanese meal
in bento boxes, but she would agree to no
more than taxiing around Brolin's home
airport in Camarillo, California.
The 1,600-hour pilot turned 80 in
2020, a number that caught the attention of his insurance company. It would
no longer provide coverage for the Cessna
185, compelling him to sell his beloved
taildragger. He was advised, however,
that he could obtain insurance for a tricycle-gear airplane, so he is looking for a
Cessna Skylane, but not just any 182. He
wants one that has been highly modified
as a STOL aircraft-including a controllable canard-by Peterson's Performance
Plus. He plans to use it to explore the
backcountry.
barryschiff.com

BRIAN SCHIFF

AS A CHILD, award-winning actor James Brolin lived a few blocks south of Santa Monica
Municipal Airport and became enamored with the beehive of aircraft arrivals and departures. He began his aviation " career " building models and suspending them from his
bedroom ceiling. The 12-year-old had not considered learning to fly until early on the
fateful morning of July 21, 1952, when a magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted him awake. He
saw his models in motion, swaying gracefully from the ceiling as if in flight. " This surreal
experience was so beautiful, so aesthetic, " he says, " that it inspired me to fly. "
He took his first lessons in a Stinson Voyager when he was a teenager, which is when
he began developing an affinity for taildraggers. A lack of funds, however, delayed his
first solo until some years later. He obtained his certificate in a Citabria.
Brolin eventually purchased a Cessna 185 Skywagon but had a traumatic experience
after flying it for 15 years. While taking off in 1990 from Agua Dulce, a small airport north
of Los Angeles, the jackscrew that trimmed his Skywagon's adjustable stabilizer failed.
Brolin hauled back on the control wheel but was unable to overcome the strong nosedown pitching moment. The airplane nosed over and flipped onto its back. He escaped
from the inverted airplane without injury, but the aircraft was quickly consumed by fire.
" This accident spooked me, " he says. " It was a life-changing experience that caused
me to quit flying. " But the flying bug returned eight years later, and Brolin found himself
buying another Cessna 185 that he flew for 20 years. The actor-who also is a producer/

LOGBOOK

WHO | James Brolin, actor
HOURS | 1,600
CERTIFICATES AND RATINGS | Instrument-rated

http://www.barryschiff.com

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2021

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