NORMAN — Pilot Robert Ragozzino is no stranger to challenging world records in his 1942 Stearman biplane. His 2000 World Flight set the record for solo, open cockpit circumnavigation.
Now, the 51-year-old Ragozzino has set his sights on another record. He’ll team up with Tulsa wingwalker Ashley Battles in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for wingwalking. The current time is three hours and 23 minutes set in 1990, also on a Stearman.
Ragozzino went looking for a wingwalker after learning about the world record.
“There’s not that many of them,” he said. “It’s like a really small group.”
Battles, 27, of Tulsa, has been wingwalking for years and has been around aviation her entire life. She has an aviation degree from Oklahoma State University and is a commercial rated pilot.
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They’ll attempt the record this month in California on or near the 83rd anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 Spirit of St. Louis, non-stop flight between New York and Paris.
Besides setting a record, Ragozzino hopes to call attention to his future plans to recreate Lindbergh’s flight. The plane, an exact replica of Lindbergh’s, sits in a hangar at Max Westheimer Field in Norman. His Stearman is based in Oklahoma City at Wiley Post Airport and is being custom fitted for wingwalking.
It’s the same kind of plane that was used by the military for pilot training at the Naval Base here. A model of the plane, nicknamed the “Yellow Peril” sits on the Legacy Park trail at Eufaula Street and Jones Avenue. Many Stearman pilots employed wingwalkers at airshows.
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Battles will be bundled up in a flight suit to protect her against the cold California weather. Ragozzino can alter his flight plan to accommodate temperatures. Her job is to stay atop the craft more than 3 hours and 23 minutes.
He’s hoping the media attention will help build some excitement toward his Spirit of St. Louis 2 project. If it comes off on May 21, it’ll be the 83rd anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight.
That epic trip was the biggest spectacle of its time, resulting in huge celebrations in Europe and in the U.S. The Ryan aircraft is being custom-fitted for the flight.
Ragozzino will spend the next few weeks here getting the Stearman ready. He hasn’t flown it much since the 2000 world flight, but it’s ready to go. It’ll take a few days to get it out to California, depending on how hard he pushes it.
“We are set up to break the world record, but we’re also doing this to promote the Spirit of St. Louis 2 project.”
Andy Rieger 366-3543 editor@normantranscript.com
