An EAA favorite and an aviation legend, Bruce Bohannon, EAA 169040, age 66, passed away peacefully in his home from a relatively short bout of cancer on July 24, 2024. He was born and raised in Alvin, Texas, and developed a passion for flight from a young age, eventually becoming an aerobatic pilot, flight instructor, air racer, and aviation world record-setter.
Bruce won numerous air races between 1989 and 1998 in his all-composite pusher aircraft, Pushy Galore, which now hangs in the EAA Aviation Museum. After setting five time-to-climb and altitude records in the pusher, Bruce built a second purpose-built, highly modified RV-4 known as the Exxon Flyin’ Tiger. Bruce and the Tiger broke 30 more records between 1999 and 2005.
Throughout his career, Bruce’s 35 world performance records earned him the respect of pilots everywhere. He is the only American pilot ever awarded the prestigious Louis Bleriot Medal by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale three years in a row from 2001 to 2003. He went on to own and operate Flyin’ Tiger Flying School in Angleton, Texas, becoming the world’s only RV-8 transition pilot school among other instructing accomplishments. Bruce was inducted into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame in 2022 and is also on the National Air and Space Museum’s Wall of Honor.
A truly funny and sharp-witted guy, he was an unforgettable character, friend of thousands, and he will be sorely missed!
“It’s not that you can’t do it. It’s that you choose not to.” — Bruce Bohannon
