Flying paperboy is
America's oldest pilot

See update at end of story.

By Chuck Woodbury

LOYALTON, Calif., (1995) — A year after Wilbur and Orville Wright made aviation history in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, N.C., their relative Hal Wright was born far across the country in San Francisco, Calif. Little could anyone know that this Wright, too, would make aviation history.

Hal Wright is the 91-year-old editor and publisher of the tabloid Sierra Booster Newspaper of tiny Loyalton, Calif. He's also a pilot. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), he's the oldest active pilot in the USA.

Earlier in 1995 the FAA tried to ground Wright, refusing to renew his medical certificate. With the help of three doctors and an aviation lawyer, Wright convinced the FAA he was still fit to fly. A half year later, the silver-haired publisher was back in the air, snapping photos one moment, then delivering newspapers the next.

Yes, delivering newspapers. For 35 years, Wright's been California's only flying paperboy — tossing Boosters to remote subscribers from the pilot's seat of his single-engine 1949 Aeronica Sedan. "Sometimes I can hit a front porch," Wright once told me. Then, an hour later, as I rode green-faced and white-knuckled in the back seat, he nearly proved it — dropping the tabloid into the yard of subscriber Josephine Roberti. Later, stopping by her ranch in his spoiler-equipped Camaro, Wright was greeted by Josephine, who produced a recent edition with a page one notation that the paper had been "delivered by air to our front porch by Hal Wright."

The Booster is a folksy, homespun tabloid, published every three weeks, because, says Wright, to publish more often would just mean more work.

Wright is a member of the UFOs — the United Flying Octogenarians — a group of about 175 active pilots 80 years and older. I attended a UFO meeting once, sitting across the table from the then-president who spoke of frequent flights to Baja to drink margaritas. Try as I could, I couldn't speak loud enough for the guy to hear me, even though he was wearing a hearing aid. I remember thinking, "Please, dear Lord, do not put me in an airliner anywhere near this guy."

When I first interviewed Wright in 1981, he told me he'd still be flying 25 years later. I didn't believe him. Now, I wonder.

For a copy of the latest Sierra Booster send $2.00 to P.O. Box 8, Loyalton, CA 96118.

(The story about Hal Wright appeared in Out West #1. The UFOs were profiled in #3)

UPDATE FROM APRIL, 1999: Hal, now 95, is still flying and doing fine. Last September, the students of Loyalton High School videotaped him for a school project. "They showed real class in the questions they asked," said Hal. In October, 1999, Hal will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Sierra Booster.

UPDATE FROM JULY 7, 2000. We're sad to report that Hal died on June 24 at the age of 96.

©1999-2003 by Out West Newspaper

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