Many celebrities have weird and wonderful hobbies such as Penelope Cruz and her collection of 500 coat hangers to Ryan Gosling being obsessed with knitting. What is slightly less discussed however is Hollywood celebrities who have unexpected hobbies such as holding a pilot license.
We’ve made a shortlist of some of our favourite celebrity pilots in 2022.
Angelina Jolie
Is there anything this woman can’t do? The actress and philanthropist first gained her pilot license in 2004, after her son Maddox expressed an interest in aviation.
Since 2004, she’s bought her own planes including a red and white Cirrus SR-22 and SR20 (you can read more about these aircraft here).
Jolie’s Cirrus SR-22 is fitted with the one of the world’s fastest single engine aircraft which has a top speed of 300 miles per hour and is worth $360,000!
The actress did get into trouble in 2013 when her pilot license was briefly suspended after she forgot to renew her plane’s registration. Don’t worry Angelina it happens to the best of us!
Harrison Ford
The Hollywood actor is known for playing smuggler and pilot of the Millennium Falcon Han Solo in Star Wars. In real life, whilst Ford doesn’t fly space craft, he does have a passion for planes.
He’s just one of the many celebrities with a pilot license which he earned at the age of 53. He now owns 10 planes including vintage planes where he can travel in style: The 1942 Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR and the 1929 Waco Taperwing.
The actor has had ups and downs in his flying career often getting into trouble with landing his aircraft. In 2015, his Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR crashed onto a golf course in California after a mechanical engine failure check out the terrifying video below!
Bruce Dickinson
Iron Maiden front man Bruce Dickinson first started flying in Florida in the early 1990s and became a fully qualified pilot.
After gaining his license he became a pilot for Astraeus Airlines for a number of years before the airline went bankrupt. In 2012 he decided to create his own aviation company called Cardiff Aviation. In August 2015, Cardiff Aviation signed a deal with Air Djibouti to provide airline support, Dickinson piloted the maiden flight from Cardiff to Djibouti in a Boeing 737.
For Iron Maiden’s Somewhere Back in Time World tour he piloted Iron Maiden Boeing 747 nicknamed Ed Force One which carried the band’s equipment on tour.
The plane is now operated by Air Atlanta Icelandic at Cotswold airport.
John Travolta
John Travolta has always had his eyes set on the skies. He got his first pilot license when he was aged just 22, he almost became a pilot before becoming one of Hollywood’s most famous stars.
He has been a long-time Qantas Airline ambassador. In 2002, he embarked on a 13 city Spirit of Friendship tour, flying a Boeing 707 for eight weeks across the globe.
In his Florida home, he has a 7,500-foot runway to land his 6 planes: a Boeing 727, Boeing 707, a Bombardier Challenge 601 and three Gulfstream jets. In the summer this year Travolta announced he had earned his license to fly a Boeing 737 plane which he will no doubt want to add to his current plane selection!
Did you know about any of these celebrity pilots? Or do you know anymore? Let us know in the comments below.
