Randy Ball is a sixth generation Texan who spent his early years in rural Texas, the same as most of his ancestors, graduating from high school with a class of only 29. All of Randy’s time, however, wasn’t spent on the ‘ranch’. His father took him flying and he spent countless hours with one of his heroes, his Great Uncle Gilbert Ball, who flew 56 missions over Europe flying the B-17 Flying Fortress. Randy would ask questions and listen to his uncle’s stories by the hour. Even before college, Randy knew he wanted to fly. By the time he was 13 years old, he had already taken off and landed a plane with his father and soloed at the age of 18.

Today Randy is an airline captain and has flown over 40 different makes and models of aircraft that were built by manufacturers in nine different countries. He has performed on the North American air show circuit in front of millions of fans for over 16 years, and is today recognized as one of the premier air show pilots flying jet aerobatics. Randy started flying air shows with the CAF in WW II aircraft and has flown several aircraft from that war, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. His favorites are the North American F-100 Super Saber, and his current jet, the famous MiG-17F from the Vietnam War.

Randy flies solo aerobatics, both day shows and night shows. His demo is designed to resemble the demo of the F/A-18 Hornet or the ‘high G’ show of the F-16 Falcon. During his demo in the MiG-17F, he routinely pulls 8gs, and reaches speeds approaching 700 mph, all while only a few hundred feet off the ground. Randy has also had the honor of providing the enemy aircraft to be flown against the USAF’s F-4 Phantom II at a number of air shows around the U.S. (MiG vs. F-4), helping to tell the story of the USAF’s history over the skies of North Vietnam. Randy is the only civilian pilot ever approved by the USAF to fly with their Phantom. Randy has appeared in eighteen magazines, and on several occasions been filmed by the Discovery Channel, in particular while performing with the USAF F-4 Phantom II.

He likes to spend time with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Boy Scouts, and when asked what is his favorite maneuver, he says “the vertical A/B roll”.When asked what his favorite air show is, he says “It’s the one where I can have access to the fans, especially the kids. It is the kids who make all the work worth it.They are the next generation, and the one hope I have is to inspire them in a positive way…to fly.”

Vietnam Heritage

Randy Ball with his youngest airshow fan Harrison Hayes.