Photo: TRAVOLTA.com
John Travolta in an airline captain’s uniform
Is John Travolta one of the best pilots to ever live?
John Travolta became very famous after his box office movie success in Saturday Night Fever in 1977.
He owns four aircraft and has an estate in Ocala, Florida where he built its own runway and taxiway right to his door steps. That’s where he parks his Boeing 707.
John Travolta had a fascination with flying as a young boy. He received his Private Pilot’s License at the early age of 22. When not acting, he would spend his free time flying. He is an accomplished pilot and has a few business jets to satisfy his passion for aviation.
Travolta was never licensed to be the captain of an airliner but can only fly as second-in-command.
He can fly his other little jet in good weather with a visibility of more than 5 miles only. This basically makes it not very useful because he needs an instrument rating (certification) to fly inside clouds. The good thing is that he has an instructor pilot by his side to ensure safety when he needs his professional help.
The media and Breitling commercials have shown him dressed up as a 4-bars airline captain. In reality, he has neither the commercial pilot (CPL) or airline transport license (ATP) required to fly planes commercially.
Of course, he could wear the 4-striped epaulet when he flies privately on his own plane but conventionally, that honour is generally reserved for commercial pilots with a CPL or ATP.
Travolta has only a private pilot license (PPL). This is the most basic of the 3 pilot’s licenses. The PPL allows him to carry passengers but not allowed to fly them for hire.
As such, some of his detractors are of the view that he is not one of the best pilots to ever live. This has also led John McGill from Quora to ask me the same question.
I would consider John Travolta as an accomplished pilot. When he acquired the Boeing 707 from Qantas, he had no qualifications to fly commercial aircraft but went to Qantas to obtain the training necessary to get his certification to fly the 707.
Travolta uses his skill as a pilot for both humanitarian causes and fun. He flew the Boeing 707 to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, bringing medical supplies and doctors into the disaster area.
My vote for one of the best pilots to ever live would include one of the following:
Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, who used his professional skills and basic knowledge to successfully ditch an Airbus A320 into the Hudson River in New York in 2009, saving 155 lives.
Captain Al Haynes who assisted to maneuver a crippled DC-10 that had lost all flight controls with three others in 1989 to save 184 of their passengers.
Charles Lindbergh for flying transatlantic solo in 1927.
Chuck Yeager who flew the first supersonic jet in 1947.
Based on the reasons above, I would classify Travolta as one of the best pilots in the category of actors, dancers or singers but not among the professional pilots that have ever lived.
See John Travolta’s Boeing 707 Jett Ella departs LAX (Los Angeles) here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONLM6SbUNBM
See John Travolta dancing in Saturday Night Fever here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXAbdtKNmUY