Mike Goulian is a top aerobatic competitor, airshow performer, and Red Bull Air Race World Championship racer who has been flying since he was a teen. The energetic New Englander is a perfectionist with exceptionally high standards for his flight school and aviation businesses, which he runs with wife, Karin.
1. What pilot influenced you the most?
I learned the most from my dad. He taught me to be really comfortable in the air, and to feel the airplane. I try to let the airplane talk to me, and feel what it’s trying to tell me.
2. What’s your favorite airplane?
I feel so lucky that I get to fly so many. For aerobatic airplanes, the Extra is a dream. For racing the [Zivko] Edge is awesome. I’m a Cirrus guy in GA. I’ve got to say, I spent a lot of time in a Lear 35, and it’s a real pilot’s airplane.
3. What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done in an airplane?
When I was a kid, I taxied my very first Pitts Special into a helicopter dolly. I was looking left and going right and all of a sudden there was a helicopter dolly in front of me. My dad was so disappointed. I called him on the phone. I said, “Dad, it’s me,” and he said, “What did you do to the Pitts?” I was like, “How did you know I did something to the Pitts?” And he said, “Why else would you call me on a Sunday afternoon? I’m watching the Patriots.”
4. Why did you choose flying?
My dad brought me to work one day because he wanted me to see what he did. I didn’t find aviation, aviation found me. By the end of the first summer, I just knew that’s what I wanted to do with my life.
5. What’s it like flying in the Red Bull Air Races?
The Red Bull Air Races is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in aviation. You have to be so, so, so precise. As hard as it is when you’re flying, some of the places we land are pretty heart-stopping. We get pretty good at landing airplanes with no wing flaps in 1,000 feet or so.
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