Special Guest Speaker
U.S. Navy Blue Angels Pilot (Retired), Mark “Ziggy’ Ziegler
The Kelowna Flying Club and in association with YLW and the KF Centre For Excellence welcome special guest speaker Mark “Ziggy” Ziegler to our speaker series scheduled for Tuesday, July 2nd, 2024, at 16:30.
Mark “Ziggy” Ziegler is a veteran United States naval aviator with an extensive and distinguished service record including command and executive postings during his deployment with the Navy. In 1987 “Ziggy” was selected to the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron the “Blue Angels” where he flew as the left wing (#3) in 1988 and slot Pilot (#4) in 1989. (See below for a full bio).
Come join us Tuesday evening where “Ziggy” will present and talk us through a demonstration by the Blue Angels from the pilot’s perspective. This is a unique opportunity to learn what the pilot experiences during an airshow demonstration.
The presentation will be held at the KF Centre For Excellence at 5800 Lapointe Drive, Kelowna B.C.
Start time is 16:30 (4:30 p.m.). Come early to visit and enjoy the Centre’s aviation museum with its unique mix of airplanes, exhibits and history.
The presentation is open to all members of the aviation community and the public. A $5.00 donation is requested with one hundred percent of the proceeds directed to the Blue Angels charity Foundation.
Mark “Ziggy’ Ziegler is a 22-year retired naval aviator. During his Navy career he made 7 deployments to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. Flew combat operations in Granada, Lebanon, Bosnia and Northern Iraq. In 1987 he was selected to the Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron the “Blue Angels” where he flew as the left wing (#3) in 1988 and slot Pilot (#4) in 1989. After orders to numerous hornet squadrons and Naval War College he was selected to command a F/A-18 Squadron. He commanded strike-fighter squadron VFA-83 The Rampager’s. Under his command and leadership, the squadron won the Battle “E” as the best combat ready hornet squadron in the Navy. After command, he received orders to the pentagon where he was executive director of the Navy Budget office in charge of procurement and funding for all Navy programs. Aircraft flown include the A-4 Skyhawk, A-7E Corsair and the F/A-18 Hornet. He has over 5000 hours in tactical jets. Awards include Strike Flight Air Medal. Meritorious service medal numerous commendation medal and service awards
After retiring from the Navy, Mark joined American Airlines and flew as a flight engineer in the B-727 and first officer in the B-727, B-737, B-757 / B767 before upgrading to captain and retired again after 22 years on the B-737. Flight time with American is over 20,000 hours
Mark is currently the director of Maintenance for Super Petrel USA in Ormond Beach Florida. He has over 1000 hours in the Super Petrel and has delivered planes to Washington, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. He just took delivery of the new Super Petrel XP in May and will be flying it to Oshkosh in July. If you would like to know more, you can read the article in the July issue of the AOPA magazine.