The Silver Wings Wingwalking Team united the sport of flying and the art of wingwalking to perform a seamless duet in the sky. In addition to airshows, their vast repertoire included aerial/safety coordination, location scouting, script consultation, and providing Stearman bi-planes and talent for the movie and television industry.
FOUNDING MEMBERS:
Hartley Folstad
Retired airline captain Hartley Folstad has logged more than 20,000 flying hours since his first solo in a Piper Cub from a grass field in Missouri. His career began in the Military where he carrier qualed (landed on carriers) and flew F9F-8 cougars. A graduate from the Navy's post graduate safety curriculum in Monterey, California, Folstad taught aerodynamics at the Navy's school of command in Pensacola Florida.
In 1982, Folstad founded the Stearman Flight Center first providing aerobatic instruction and now catering to the T.V. and movie business and the airshow industry with the Silver Wings Wingwalking Team.
After a 52 show season in 1989 with Disney's Royal Flying Circus, Folstad started the Silver Wings Flight Team. For ten years, 1990 to 2000, the team flew a dynamic formation aerobatic act with three Stearman bi-panes and a wingwalker on the lead plane.
In 2001, the other pilots in the team retired, and Hartley continued performing with his wife and wingwalker Margaret Stivers in a solo act showcasing wingwalking.
Margaret Stivers
Margaret Stivers joined the Silver Wings Team as a wingwalker in 1991. She recently celebrated her anniversary of 22 continuous years performing wingwalking. Sport and art are melded as Stivers used balance and precision to perform her unique artistry on the wing. Some stunts were performed in airshows and others for photo work.
Her stuntwork included the skysurf loop, handstand hammerhead, ballet barrel roll, upside down splits, standing splits, Victory pose, back-layout off the back of the wingwalking rack, the n-strut "aerobesque" and N-strunt hang. She is the first woman to hang below the gear axle since the stunt was first performed in the 1920's. Margaret performed her 1,000 wingwalk flight climbing nine times around the plane on May 20, 2006, in front of an estimated crowd of 10,000 plus people at the Planes of Fame Airshow in Chino, California. Stivers is one of the most experienced stunt women specializing in wingwalking.
The footings of her career are deep and while there are many individuals who have encouraged her on this curious path, she would like to acknowledge Peter Lee, (her master thesis professor,) Cliff Rose, (legendary Hollywood stuntman and director,) Corkey Fornof, (movie stunt pilot and aerial coordinator,) Johnny Kazian (stunt-wingwalker great,) her parents, and above all her husband Hartley Folstad.
Both Hartley Folstad and Margaret Stivers are members of SAG (Screen Actors Guild,) ICAS (International Council of Airshows.)
Over the years, there were many people who joined the team,Most recently Lee Oman and Marion Wagner.
Coming soon a history of the Silver Wings Team members.
