Debbie Gary Callier
American air show pilot and author
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Biography
Callier graduated in 1965 from William McFarland High School in Bordentown Township, New Jersey and attended George Washington University before moving with her father to Saint Thomas.[4]
Gary first took flying lessons in 1966 in New Jersey.[5] Her first solo flight took place in the Virgin Islands, where she had moved with her family.[5] Starting in 1968, she began working as a glider instructor and in 1969, met Jim Holland when she flew a glider at the St. Croix airshow.[5] She learned aerobatics from Holland and joined his airshow.[5] She performed for some time for Holland, then worked for a Canadian aerobatic team.[6][7] She competed against 40 men for her spot on the aerobatics team.[8] After, she joined the Bede Jet Team.[9] She became the first woman to fly full-time in an aerial formation team.[6][5][8] The Star Tribune called Gary "the world's leading woman show pilot" in 1978.[10] She also appeared in episode 12 of the first season of the TV series The Blue Marble in 1974.[11] She has flown a Bede BD-5J and a Pitts S-1A open cockpit biplane doing her stunts.[12][13]
After 1972, she started working as an instructor at the Flabob Airport.[5] When she was not doing airshows, she worked as an instructor.[12] Later, she worked in Alexandria, Minnesota.[7]
In 1978, Gary married Jim Callier, who was the president of the Bellanca Aircraft Corp.[14] In 1994, Gary earned a journalism degree from the University of Houston.[6] She did an internship at the Houston Post, and wrote for Air & Space, a magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution.[6][15] She also took time off from air shows to raise her children.[6]
Gary started flying airshows again around 1998.[6] She encourages young people, especially girls, to think about going into aviation as a career.[16][17]
In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Gary's name and picture.[18] A photo-lithograph of the card is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[19]