Patty Wagstaff doesn’t care if you think she’s too old to fly upside down. At 73, the aerobatic legend is still defying gravity—and everyone’s expectations. As the first woman to win the U.S. National Aerobatic Championship, she broke into a male-dominated world and never looked back—flying on her own terms.

Patty Wagstaff: The Sky Is Her Home

Today, she’s still in the cockpit training the next generation of pilots with her signature blend of grit and calm reassurance. She’s a trailblazer, a teacher, and as it turns out, the kindest badass you’ll ever meet.

Wagstaff has lived life on her own terms: fearless, curious, and mostly airborne. But what lingers isn’t just the accolades—of which there are many—it’s the emotional clarity she’s earned along the way. The kind you can only earn at altitude and over time.

In a sunlit office in Northeast Florida, surrounded by her mini-huskies Remy and Greta, with their eyes so striking they appeared to be people in tiny dog suits (with really good hair), Wagstaff sat down with PROVOKED to talk risk, solitude, and what it means to be comfortable at every stage of life.

 

What Aging Really Feels Like (Spoiler: It’s Not Slowing Down)

Age may just be the number of times we’ve circled the sun, but social media often suggests staying relevant means chasing youth. Patty Wagstaff sees it differently. “Don’t let society dictate what you’re supposed to be like at any age,” she said. “You don’t want to get stuck trying to be 30 for the rest of your life. It’s really great to get old. There’s always somebody you know who didn’t have that chance.”

Even as Wagstaff celebrates the freedom that comes with getting older, she’s acutely aware of the judgment and misconceptions that shadow women as they age.

“Even women when they’re 40 are judged old,” she said. “It can affect how you act, how you look, how you feel. Sometimes you have to speak up and say, hey—you’re gonna be there sometime.”

From Acrobatics to Airmanship: Teaching with Purpose

Though she’s best known for her jaw-dropping aerial stunts, it’s Wagstaff’s quieter mission that brings her the most purpose today: helping pilots become more skilled and confident.

“I really enjoy the flight school I founded,” she said. “We call it airmanship—knowing that somebody leaves here a safer pilot, even if they’re not really into aerobatics, that’s everything. I enjoy teaching people. And aerobatics is fun, but there’s a lot more to it. There’s learning the basics of being a really good aviator even before you start doing aerobatics.”

Yes, There Was Bias. No, It Didn’t Ground Her.

When asked about gender bias in her career, Wagstaff doesn’t get defensive—she gets matter of fact.

“It was there, but I saw it more as an educational process. If somebody has the desire and the ability to do something, what difference does their gender make? The airplane doesn’t know the difference.”

Learning to Fly, Literally

Wagstaff’s path wasn’t linear. Before she ever took the stick herself, her love of flight began at home. Her father was an airline pilot.

“I loved aviation and hanging out with my father and his friends because they’d talk about flying,” she said. “I liked hanging upside down, standing on my head, gymnastics—all of that. Aerobatics combined everything, plus travel is exciting. I really like the challenge of pushing myself, and the mental aspect of it.”

Even as a young girl growing up in Japan, where there were no airshows and few women in the field, she felt pulled to the sky. It started with a globe-spanning adventure: living on a boat off the coast of Australia with her first husband, and later moving across the country to Queensland to work and go to school.

“I had to fly small planes to get around to the different villages,” she said. “Then I met my second husband—he had an airplane. I kept going and it led to aerobatics.”

Eventually, Wagstaff landed in Northeast Florida, where she found a supportive community of like-minded flyers. “With aerobatics and air shows, you have to be around people who do it. You can’t just be out there in a vacuum.”

On Solitude, Friendship, and Tuning Into Your Own Thoughts

Wagstaff has grown into herself over time, and that’s not by chance. It’s the result of tuning out the noise.

“Everybody has expectations for you, and they mean well by giving you advice. But you have to figure it out for yourself. You have to spend time alone. Some people never have that opportunity. When things are quiet—that’s when the insights come to you.”

Friendships, too, have evolved. “Don’t look at someone’s age—look for common ground,” she said. “I’ve had friendships with people much younger and people who are older. I think part of that is growing up in Japan where elders were revered. That influenced me a lot.”

Her advice on befriending older people: “Don’t automatically assume that if someone is older, they’re here to give you advice. That’s a burden. That’s not fun. Get to know them. Just be friends and see what plays out.”

Staying on the Golden Path and Coping with Loss

Wagstaff’s most powerful metaphor came when talking about grief, resilience, and continuing on after loss. She said Buddhist texts likely played into her thought process without her even realizing it, but her path forward became very clear.

“I had this vision of myself many years ago. I was on this golden path, up in the sky. People fall off, people die, but I stay on my path. I can’t help anyone if I’m a mess. I couldn’t train people to be better pilots. I couldn’t be there for a friend. You’ve got to stay on your path the best you can and just keep going.”

Yes Is the Final Word

Patty Wagstaff makes you want to say yes more. To push yourself. To tune out the noise. Talking with her was a great reminder to keep having new experiences and not give in to fear. Fear can keep you tethered to the ground. Just watching a video of her flying, hearing the joy and confidence in her voice as she talked to air traffic control—it all made me want to get in a cockpit and spend some legit time upside down. And I don’t even like flying right side up. No doubt, I walked out of my meeting with her braver than when I walked in.

As she put it, “You kinda grow into who you are over the years—if you allow it.”

I’m going to work on allowing it. How about you?

Get your heart racing: Watch Patty in the cockpit practicing aerobatics.

Read more about Patty and her adventures here.

Want more stories like Patty’s? Share this one with someone who’s rewriting the rules. Know a woman whose story belongs here? Email us—we’re listening.

*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.