Arnold Palmer died on Sunday evening, September 25, at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadyside Hospital, about 40 miles from his home in Latrobe, Penn. The cause of death was reported as complications of heart problems. He was 87.
While the golf world grieved the loss of one of its greatest and perhaps most beloved players, pilots mourned the final flight of an accomplished aviator and passionate advocate of the airplane as business-building tool.
Arnie’s first airplane ride was in a Piper Cub at Latrobe Airport (renamed to honor him in 1999 on his 70th birthday) when he was a kid. He took his first flying lessons there in Cessnas in 1955, soloing and earning his private certificate the following year. He built time flying 172s, 175s and 180s.
Son of a golf pro at the Latrobe Country Club, Palmer was the PGA Tour’s leading money winner in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1963. In 1962 he bought his first airplane, an Aero Commander 500 piston twin for $27,000, before upgrading to a new 560F a couple of years later. When he moved up to a jet he stayed with Rockwell, buying a Jet Commander in 1966. In 1968 he was the first player to pass $1 million in career prize money on the PGA tour, and he leased a Learjet 24. With two copilots and an observer, he flew a Learjet 36 around the globe in 1976, setting a world record speed of 57 hours 25 minutes 42 seconds in the process. But for the remainder of his flying career he chose Citations, starting with a 500 in 1977, then a II, two IIIs, a VII and two Xs.
Palmer recalled the first time he saw the Cessna flagship: “I was standing on the sixth fairway waiting to hit an approach shot in our annual gala that benefits the Latrobe County Hospital. I heard a jet and looked up to see just about the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen—the new Citation X gliding right over us as it approached Latrobe Airport.” Recognizing Arnie’s love of all things aeronautical, both the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds made him an honorary member. Palmer was the first athlete to be awarded three of the top U.S. civilian honors—the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal and the National Sports Award. Over the course of his 56-year piloting career, he logged approximately 20,000 hours.
The company that airplanes helped Palmer build was Arnold Palmer Enterprises. As president, he supervised the design and development of 300-plus new or remodeled golf courses worldwide; the company also sold golf clubs and clothing to his many fans, known as Arnie’s Army. Palmer was the first chairman of the Golf Channel on cable TV, as well as a spokesman for Pennzoil and the No Plane, No Gain business aviation advocacy campaign.
Flip through a slideshow of Palmer and his business aircraft.
