Pappy Spinks to be inducted into International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame

EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — Maurice Hunter “Pappy” Spinks, a legendary aerobatic flight competitor, organizer, and aircraft designer, will be posthumously inducted into the International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame Nov. 10, 2022, as part of the annual Experimental Aircraft Association Halls of Fame program in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Spinks (1906-1982) was the president of the Aerobatic Club of America, a competitor, and the sponsor of the U.S. National Aerobatic Championships from 1967 to 1971 at the Oak Grove Airport in Texas that he founded.

Moving the championship to Oak Grove from Reno, where it was sandwiched in between air races, brought skilled aerobatic legends such as Pancho Barnes, Alan Bean, Charlie Hillard, and Harold Krier to the competition, EAA officials noted.

Spinks also helped draft some of the first rules for aerobatic contests prior to the IAC’s formation in 1970 and was a major supporter of the 1970 U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team.

Spinks built his own airplane at age 15 and taught himself to fly. Later in life he produced two aerobatic aircraft: The Spinks Akromaster and a Model 10. The Spinks Aircraft Industries building was built in 1968 at Oak Grove for the construction of the Akromaster, a design that placed third in the 1970 World Aerobatic Championships flown by Charlie Hillard, who would later win the World Aerobatic Championships in 1972 in his 200-hp Pitts Special.

The International Aerobatic Club is a division of the Experimental Aircraft Association and also a division of the National Aeronautic Association. It is responsible for the administration, management, and promotion of the sport of aerobatics in the United States under the regulations of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Lausanne, Switzerland. FAI is the world governing body for all sport aviation competitions and record attempts.