Greg Connell Gone West….

1 - FIRST PICTURE

All airshow careers come to an end, some pilots know it before the last flight and some don’t. Greg Connell tragically lost his life in an accident on May 15, 2016 at an airshow in Atlanta Georgia’s DeKalb Peachtree Airport.   He was flying a Wolfpitts, a very custom made ultra performance biplane.

Greg was born and raised in North Augusta Georgia. He learned to fly at a young age like a lot of us and moved into aerobatics. Greg’s real training came at the hands of aerobatic legend Gary Ward. Greg was off to do airshows. He was a regional performer with most of his shows in the Southeastern part of the United States. He also sang and played guitar in several local bands.

Greg lived in Twin Lakes Airpark in Trenton SC. Since I never met Greg personally I called Scott Yoak who just moved in down the street (or taxiway) from Greg. Scooter said Greg was a “great guy”; no more needs said.   I guess they aren’t going to be showing movies on the side of the hangar together this week. Gary will be sorely and eternally missed by this wife Ginger and the rest of his family.

Here are some pictures I took when he flew his Pitts Model 12 at TICO in 2014 in a much happier time. He put on a heck of a great performance. This was NOT the airplane he lost his life in. The Wolfpitts is the one above.

From all people here at PhotoRecon to Greg’s family, please accept our prayers, sincerest condolences, and sympathy as Greg turns to 270° and heads into the sunset. Godspeed

You can contact the author Mark Hrutkay at [email protected]

Mark Hrutkay

Mark has been a member of the International Association of Aviation Photographers (ISAP) for several years and attends all their events and seminars. He has won several awards for his work and has been published in several aviation magazines, domestic and foreign. You can contact Mark Hrutkay at [email protected].

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