WELCOME to a most extraordinary group of aviators, the United Flying Octogenarians (UFO). Founded in 1982 with just a handful of pilots, we have grown to around 1,700 members worldwide, all of whom have acted as a certificated pilot in command (PIC) on or after their 80th birthday. We invite you to learn more about who we are.
UFO exists to promote longevity, safety and, especially, fellowship among senior pilots. We represent the interests of senior pilots worldwide and aim to inspire youth to fly.
LIGHTS
Membership at a Glance
Delaware UFO Gathering
September 2026
Good afternoon UFO Members and Guests:
After a couple years of bad weather hampering our UFO events, we finally scored with a wonderful sunny day on September 16, 2026 for a fly-drive meeting in Milton, Delaware. It was held at the home of member John and Cindy Chirtea in his hangar at Eagles Crest Aerodrome (DE25). Thirty (30) UFO members and fifteen (15) guests assembled to share in the joy of aviation. With the beautiful sunny day and a light wind, 15 airplanes arrived with the help of two air bosses on hand to guide them in (and out) of the well-maintained grass field airport.
After a light lunch was served, the meeting began with the reading of a message from UFO President Ken "Brownie" Brown. Members and guests were then introduced and a great time was had listening to a wide variety of aviation stories. This is what the UFO organization is all about!
Two guest speakers were in attendance with presentations about electric vertical take off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs). The first was a videographer who was selected to shoot a live video of test flights of the new JOBY Aviation's aircraft. We saw a video where the
JOBY completed NY City's first ever point-to-point electric vehicle flying directly from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Manhattan's city-owned downtown Skyport as well as to the West 30th Street and East 30th Street Heliports. Flying the aircraft was done electronically and did not have a live pilot on board.
The second presenter was John's daughter, Heather, who not only talked about eVTOLs, but piloted an actual flight demonstration in the BLACKFLY, a plane owned by them. BLACKFLY, manufactured by Pivotal Aviation in Palo Alto, CA , is only one of 5 eVTOLs sold to private individuals in the US. Future models are being marketed as The HELIX, and should be on the market soon.
Also worthy of note, is that we were joined at the event by UFO member Bill Breuer (101 years old), who drove down from Mt. Laurel, NJ. Attendees came from as far away as Lakeland, FL or as near by as Milton, Delaware, with others coming from NJ, MD, VA, PA, and WV.
All in all, it was a great UFO event. Until we meet again, Fly Safe!
Cheers,
John Chirtea, Delaware Area UFO Representative
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