Wichita native and aviation legend Clay Lacy entertained a capacity audience in Wichita with a few stories from his long career. Yeah we know. Legend is overused. Tiresome. Sometimes, though, no other description will do. See if you don’t agree.
- The world’s top aerial cinematographer
- Nearly 50,000 flight hours in 50-plus years
- A commercial pilot for more than 40 years
- Type-rated in 30 aircraft, from helicopters to 747s
- One of the first pilots type-rated in Learjets
- Owner of one of the nation’s top jet charter firms
- Pilot for celebrities and presidents
- Still flying at age 75
We could go on. But you get the idea. World-renowned (we resisted the temptation to say “legendary,” but we could make the case) air-to-air photographer Paul Bowen chatted with Lacy for the benefit of an appreciative crowd at Wichita State University, eliciting a number of nuggets from among Lacy’s endless trove of aviation tales.
WSU’s Ulrich Museum of Art brought the two together to discuss the art of aviation as part of an exhibit, “Aircraft: The Jet as Art.” Lacy said when he first was contacted, he wasn’t sure that he knew much about aviation art. But the more he thought about it, he said, the more he realized that, “I think airplanes are art. I think that airplanes in flight – all of them – are absolutely beautiful. I’ve seen more of them in flight than anyone ever, and I still love them.”
Then Lacy showed two short films, one showcasing his air-to-air cinematography and one covering a few highlights of his life in aviation. They erased any doubt about whether airplanes constitute art or whether Lacy is an artist of the first order. Bowen described the complex choreography and precision flying required for one of Lacy’s photo shoots as an aerial ballet. We think that’s a perfect description.
Sonia, who serves on the Ulrich board and knows more than a few aviation luminaries, finds new inspiration each time she hears the words of masters such as Lacy and Bowen. “Aircraft are the perfect expression of function driving elegant form. Clay’s cinematography, like a Paul Bowen photograph, is truly breathtaking. Graceful. Fluid. It’s such a privilege to hear these men in person, talking about their lives and their work. It’s one of the real advantages of living in the Air Capital.”
Do you have a Clay Lacy or Paul Bowen story to share? Thoughts about aircraft as art?
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Wichita may not have much of a reputation as an art center.
But arguably the world’s most renowned “creative” aviation photographer is our own local boy, Paul Bowen
And the undisputed master of aerial motion-picture cinematography is Wichita-bred Clay Lacy (who, by the way, is also quite arguably the most influential pioneer in the bizjet business — as an encore to his role as the chief pilot of United Airlines).
That’s a substantial bit of world-renowned artistic talent for a town “in the sticks.”
Lacy’s WSU event was quite well attended, with literally hundreds of the aviation community present, including leaders of every stripe.
Clay Lacy — not Bill Lear — is arguably the person who made “Lear Jet” a household name. Wichita-bred Lacy, following on his career as United Airlines chief pilot, opened up the first serious bizjet business in Southern California (Clay Lacy Aviation).
His shop was (if memory serves me correctly) the first Lear Jet dealership (and for a long time, the only one) west of the Rockies, as well as the first Lear Jet charter operation, and maintenance center. Lacy skillfully cultivated the business of the celebrity crowd — Los Angeles / Hollywood / Beverly Hills “jet-setters” — turning Lear Jet travel into a status symbol, and making it a definitive aspect of the “lifestyles of the rich and famous.” Were it not for Lacy, it’s entirely conceivable that the Lear Jet (now known as “Learjet”) would have never gained its notoriety and success (especially given the horrific crash rates that plagued the early Lear designs, and the incredibly fragile business model constructed by Bill Lear, who soon lost control of his own company), and might have been overwhelmed by its many fine competitors which appeared right on its heels, or even before it.
None of these aspects, though, could top the Lacy-reinforced image of the plane as the “ultimate” expression of prestige, power and success. Eventually, as Lears and Citations became common, the glory title drifted to the scarcer, far-grander and costlier Gulfstream jets, which hold the “status-symbol” title today.
But at its inception, the Gulfstream II (the Gulfstream I was a turboprop) was a distant concept to Americans, while the Lear Jet was the nation’s definition of sexy style, success, and status. Lacy’s expert Lear Jet courtship of the West Coast celebrity crowd made that a reality.
(Kudos, too, of course, to Alex Kvassy, Lear’s resourceful, intrepid international sales chief, who creatively wrangled the Lear into the limelight at every chance, and angled incalculable sums out of the most unlikely customers at a time when every single sale was a make-or-break moment for Lear Jet. A few others, too, played key roles, though I’m not clear anymore on just whom. And, of course, Lear himself was sufficiently ambitious and daring to make possible the whole thing.)
In the end, though, I suspect it was Lacy, above all others, who made Lear Jet a success in the face of existing respectable competition (North American Sabreliner, Lockheed JetStar, Jet Commander, deHavilland/Hawker DH-125/HS-125), and powerful latecomer rivals (including mighty Cessna and Beech).
You are a very smart person!