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.
Biography
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. 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, 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. 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.Michael Goulian Named Chair of AOPA Foundation's Hat in The Ring Society AOPA. 11 March 2021.
He flies a Cirrus SR22T for his business and personal travels, 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 Red Bull Air Race World Championship 2004-2010 Michael Goulianat the Red Bull Air Race World SeriesYear 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12PointsWinsRank 2004 DNP DNP4th 3 06th 20066th9th5th CAN DNS 4th 5th5th6th 11 05th 20077th DNS11th7th CAN6th DNS9th9th9th CAN2nd 6 08th 200811th5th8th CAN7th11th8th6th CAN10th 16 08th 200914th14th6th1st9th11th 22 110th 20104th11th8th6th7th13thCANCAN 24 09th Series not held between 2011 and 2013
2014-2019 Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8PointsWinsRank 2014 DNS12th12th9th12th11th10th6th 3 012th 201512th6th4th11th9th7th9th6th 13 010th 20165th10th13th10th4th6th10th CAN 19.75 010th 20176th8th5th12th3rd10th14th7th 28 09th 20181st3rd2nd4th2nd12th1st8th 73 2 3rd2019 3rd213rd
Legend: CAN: Cancelled DNP: Did not participate DNS: Did not show DQ: Disqualified NC: Not classified
See also Competition aerobatics
References
External links
Goulian Aerosports Mike Goulian Aviation 2018 article in The Boston Globe