Former United States Air Force fighter pilot Major Brian Shul will be one of the keynote speakers for this year’s 2014 Aviation Summit, set for Oct. 31-Nov. 2, in Palm Springs.
Recently inducted into the Air Force’s Legends Hall of Fame, Shul flew more than 200 missions in the Vietnam War. Suffering a near fatal crash, he was able to miraculously resume his flying career. He flew the A-7D, the A-10 and went on to fly the most heralded spy plane, the infamous SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest plane ever built.
Shul gained fame in the SR-71 as the only pilot to ever fly three missions in three consecutive days during the Libyan Crisis in 1986. Providing President Reagan with key photos of terrorist camps, Shul was able to evade two enemy missiles fired at him, taking his plane to speeds in excess of 2,200 mph.
After leaving the Air Force, Shul shifted his talents toward writing and has chronicled his most memorable moments in the Blackbird with two books: Sled Driver and The Untouchables, now the most popular books on the SR-71 worldwide. These books will be available at a discounted price for attendees of the Aviation Summit.
“We are incredibly excited to have Brian Shul as the keynote speaker for the 2014 Aviation Summit,” said Marco Parrotto, president of Lift Event Management, which is organizing the event. “The people who come to the Aviation Summit in Palm Springs will be in for a treat as Shul’s dynamic presentation is one of the most popular in America today.”
Lift Event Management, headquartered in Las Vegas, is producing the 2014 Aviation Summit. The weekend will include three days of events, education, parties and parades. Up to 10,000 pilots and industry experts from around the world are expected, giving attendees an opportunity to meet industry representatives face to face. Lift partners include three avid pilots, two of whom are current/former military pilots. The Lift team has a combined 60 years of business leadership and venture capital experience, and 25 years of trade show management experience.
For more information: AviationSummit.com
Brian Shul may have flown three days in a row (15/16/17 April 1986), but was only as an air spare for two of the times. He flew over Libya on 16 April 1986. On his one flight over Libya, the aircraft sensors suffered a rare malfunction, with the result that his one sortie over the target area provided no imagery to President Reagan, or anyone else. However, all critical targets were covered through the combined results of the other two primary SR-71 missions, flown by different aircrews. Also, there was no external source verification by any other technical means that missiles were ever fired at him at all, thus his ability to “evade” missiles.