Michael George "Mike" Goulian (born September 4, 1968 in Winthrop, Massachusetts) is an 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 (age 56)
NationalityUnited States United States
SpouseKarin Goulian
Websitemikegoulian.com

Biography

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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.[2] 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,[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

He flies a Cirrus SR22T for his business and personal travels,[6] 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

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Red Bull Air Race World Championship

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2004-2010

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  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  
DNP
 
DNP
 
4th
3 0 6th
2006  
6th
 
9th
 
5th
 
CAN
 
DNS
 
4th
 
5th
 
5th
 
6th
11 0 5th
2007  
7th
 
DNS
 
11th
 
7th
 
CAN
 
6th
 
DNS
 
9th
 
9th
 
9th
 
CAN
 
2nd
6 0 8th
2008  
11th
 
5th
 
8th
 
CAN
 
7th
 
11th
 
8th
 
6th
 
CAN
 
10th
16 0 8th
2009  
14th
 
14th
 
6th
 
1st
 
9th
 
11th
22 1 10th
2010  
4th
 
11th
 
8th
 
6th
 
7th
 
13th
 
CAN
 
CAN
24 0 9th
Series not held between 2011 and 2013

2014-

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Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Points Wins Rank
2014  
DNS
 
12th
 
12th
 
9th
 
12th
 
11th
 
10th
 
6th
3 0 12th
2015  
12th
 
6th
 
4th
 
11th
 
9th
 
7th
 
9th
 
6th
13 0 10th
2016  
5th
 
10th
 
13th
 
10th
 
4th
 
6th
 
10th
 
CAN
19.75 0 10th
2017  
6th
 
8th
 
5th
 
12th
 
3rd
 
10th
 
14th
 
7th
28 0 9th
2018  
1st
 
3rd
 
2nd
 
4th
 
2nd
 
12th
 
1st
 
8th
73 2 3rd
2019  
3rd
21 3rd

Legend:

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Edge 540 – Race Plane". Goulian Aerosports. 23 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Executive Flyers Aviation celebrates 50 years". General Aviation News. 5 March 2014.
  3. ^ 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."
  4. ^ "Bremont Watch Company Teams Up with Mike Goulian". Mike Goulian Airshows. 25 July 2013.
  5. ^ Michael Goulian Named Chair of AOPA Foundation's Hat in The Ring Society AOPA. 11 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Cirrus Aircraft Announces 2014 Red Bull Air Race World Championship Sponsorship". Cirrus. 27 February 2014. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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