Oregon Aero® SkyDancer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2009

Steve Oliver and Suzanne Asbury-Oliver create a three-for-one extravaganza with the Oregon Aero® SkyDancer, offering aerobatics, pyrobatics and skywriting with every booking.

As the world’s only husband-and-wife professional aerobatic and skywriting duo since 1980, the Olivers have distinguished themselves internationally. They received the Sword of Excellence award from the International Council of Airshows in 1999 for their extraordinary level of professionalism in the airshow industry. With Oregon Aero, Inc. as their title sponsor, they perform in airshows from Alaska to Central America, and many points in between, including Lakeland’s Sun ‘n Fun and Oshkosh’s EAA AirVenture.

     It all began in 1958 for 12-year-old Steve Oliver when his father took him flying in a Piper Vagabond from the grass airstrip on their farm. By the age of 17, Steve was enrolled in aeromechanics school in Kansas City and was taking flying lessons. In just 11 months, Steve earned commercial and instructor ratings and performed his first airshow act. He currently holds an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) rating. He is a single and multi-engine flight instructor and an Aerobatic Competency Evaluator (ACE), and holds a ground level aerobatic waiver.
 
     Steve has flown transport category fire bombers, helicopters and seaplanes. He has flown mail and has been both a corporate and a charter pilot. He has flown many hours crop dusting and towing banners at various events across the country. It was while towing banners that Steve met Suzanne Asbury and the rest, as they say, is history!

     Suzanne Asbury-Oliver began flying gliders at age 14 while attending junior high school near Portland, Oregon. At 15 she soloed and by 18 she was certified as a flight instructor. She also holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating. She has logged more than 6,000 flying hours, many of them in her original 1929 open cockpit Travel Air Pepsi SkyWriter biplane. After some 70 active years on the job, the biplane was retired in 2000 and now hangs from the ceiling at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport.

     Today, Suzanne is the nation’s only female professional skywriter, and her aerial artistry – painted on a canvas some 10,000 feet high – dazzles spectators. Millions have met Suzanne by national media attention through the "Today Show," "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood," (which reruns annually), "US Magazine," "People” Magazine, and front page coverage in the "Wall Street Journal." It’s all in a day’s work to Suzanne Asbury-Oliver.

     With Suzanne as the primary skywriter, Steve performs the aerobatic day and night shows in the
Oregon Aero® SkyDancer. SkyDancer is a 1956 de Havilland Super Chipmunk, which has been specially modified for airshow performances both in the daytime and at night.

     Although she’s not a pilot, Pax is a very important member of the SkyDancer crew. Pax is the official SkyDancer mascot, with her own trading card. She accompanies Steve and Suzanne to every event. Her gentle friendliness makes her a fan favorite, especially with the kids. When asked what type of dog she is, Steve and Suzanne say she’s a DPD — a Dog Pound Dog — the best breed ever!