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Arnold Palmer Isn’t Your Typical Business Jet Traveler
February 01, 2010
Business Jet Traveler
Interview by Stephen Pope
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.
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Posted by scurry at February 1, 2010 11:37 AM