Page 15 - World Airshow News Final

Left: The NextGen Eagles are bringing Christen Eagle formation aerobatics back to the lished himself as a sound designer for recording studios and
airshow circuit. For the 2025 season, the two aircraft will now feature matching Eagle artists across the country. He was also a touring musician for
paint schemes (photo by Jeremy Meyers). over a decade when he was in his 20s, playing keyboards and
synthesizer.

his simulator aerobatics. Billy was so impressed, he invited Leland MEEt tOM bRAyMER
to come out to their shows, and Leland wound up traveling with the Tom Braymer grew up in an aviation family. His father
Iron Eagles for two seasons. was a private pilot and mechanical engineer who worked for
“They took me under their wing and taught me the ins and a number of different kit aircraft companies. Tom spent a lot
outs of airshows,” says Leland. “I got to sit in the airshow briefing of time at the airport helping his dad on project airplanes, and
at Oshkosh when I was 18 years old, and I was there with their they went to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh quite frequently.
narrator on the stand. I put smoke oil in the Eagles and just learned When Tom was nine, the family moved from the Houston area
everything I could. Ever since those days I’ve wanted to fly Christen to Kansas City. They bought a house adjacent to a local airport
Eagles and be an Eagle flight lead.” which had an International Aerobatic Club (IAC) chapter and
His mom passed away at age 62 when Leland was 27, so he fi- an aerobatic practice area.
nally pushed forward to complete his private certificate. He quickly For his 13 birthday, Tom’s dad gave him an aerobatic ride
th
began aerobatic training in a Super Decathlon at a flight school in in a Citabria with aerobatic pilot Greg Shetterly. Two years
McKinney, Texas. later he started taking flying lessons in a 7AC Aeronca Champ
After learning the basics, he first bought a Sonex, and later a from Mickey Shetterly, Greg’s wife. He soloed at 16, but shortly
Pitts S-1 to further expand his aerobatic skills. He furthered his after that, his dad got a new job and the family moved to the
training with Chris Olmstead and the Figure 1 Foundation in Santa San Antonio, Texas area. Tom finished up his private pilot
Paula, California, and says it was the best five days of his life as training there and bought a Cessna 150 a month after getting
Olmstead put him through the wringer to prepare him for life as an his certificate.
airshow pilot. When Tom was 21, he got a Pitts checkout in an S-2B, sold
Leland is 6’5”, so after figuring out he didn’t fit into a Pitts S-1 his Cessna, and bought his own Pitts S-1S. Not long after that,
very well, he sold the Pitts and bought an RV-6. During the fall of he competed at his first IAC aerobatic contest in the Primary
2022, he received his first aerobatic card and flew his first airshow in category.
the RV-6 in Corsicana, Texas that October. He again flew the RV-6 “I had no competition coaching. I would just go out and fly
at the Buckeye Air Fair in Arizona in February 2023 the primary sequence on my own, bring the GoPro, and look
After the Buckeye show, Leland was finally able to get his dream at the footage after,” admits Tom. “I could do it safely, but from
airplane – a Christen Eagle II. He flew his first airshow in the Eagle a competitive standpoint, I had no idea whether it was a good
in Burnet, Texas in March 2023, but his sights were already set on score or a bad score.”
his ultimate goal – an Eagle formation team. At the contest, Tom met Jeff and Lynne Stoltenberg who
Outside of flying, Leland earned his degree in Audio Engineer- took him under their wing a coached him on the contest prac-
ing & Music Production, with a minor in Marketing, and has estab- tice day. Jeff was an unlimited-level aerobatic competitor, and

The NextGen Eagles performance
builds to a climax of high intensity
solo maneuvers, featuring gyroscopics
and opposing passes (photo by
Jeremy Meyers).

World Airshow News 15 The Final Issue