Arnold Palmer
The golf legend could have been your pilot
Interview by Stephen Pope - February 1, 2010
Arnold Palmer isn’t your typical business jet traveler. A curiosity about airplanes–and a fear of flying on early airliners–led him to the pilot’s seat in 1956. He was just 27 then, but his aggressive play on the golf course and magnetic personality already were hinting at the greatness to come. Palmer won his first major two years later at the 1958 Masters in a dramatic televised finish that made him a household name and gave rise to a legion of fans known as “Arnie’s Army.”
A lifetime later, Palmer, now 80, has amassed about 18,000 hours at the controls of more aircraft types than even he can recall. He has owned 10 airplanes, progressing from his first, a 1961 Aero Commander 500, to his current ride, a Cessna Citation X twinjet he bought in 2002. He still flies the Citation X with longtime chief pilot Pete Luster about 150 to 200 hours a year, including for regular trips between his homes in Latrobe, Pa. (where he grew up the son of the golf pro and head groundskeeper at Latrobe Country Club), and Bay Hill Club and Lodge, the golf course he owns in Orlando, Fla.
Palmer’s second business jet was a Lear 24 he leased in 1968. He probably would have remained a loyal Learjet customer, he told us, if not for the influence of his close friend Russ Meyer, a partner of sports-marketing pioneer and IMG founder Mark McCormack. One of Meyer’s first assignments as a young attorney working with McCormack had been to negotiate the purchase of Palmer’s Aero Commander. A shared passion for golf and aviation sparked a friendship that has lasted more than 50 years. “I still talk to Russ every day,” Palmer said.
Meyer joined Cessna Aircraft in 1974 and became chairman and CEO of the company a year later. Palmer took delivery of his first Cessna Citation in 1976 and never looked back. He has purchased seven Citation models over the years, including the first production Citation X in 1996. He even had a hand in designing the Citation X, best known as the world’s fastest business jet with a top speed of Mach 0.92.
When the business aviation industry came under public attack at the start of the economic downturn, the man who has won seven major golf championships and 92 career tournaments–and was one of the sports world’s first advertising pitchmen thanks to his association with McCormack and IMG–agreed to lend his name to the National Business Aviation Association’s No Plane, No Gain advocacy campaign. Palmer appears in the NBAA’s TV and print ads defending the use of business airplanes.
I understand you’ve just completed your annual recurrent training at FlightSafety International. How did it go?
Very well. I’ve gone another year, so that makes it 53 since I started flying. I did the training with my chief pilot, Pete Luster, who’s been with me for 13 years.
Share This Article With Others