CRAIG HOSKING

Craig Bryant Hosking was born to Bob and Annette Hosking on March 31, 1958.  Craig’s dad, a former Army pilot and aviation entrepreneur, taught him to fly airplanes when he was 8 years old and helicopters when he was 12.  On his 16th Birthday Craig soloed a Cherokee 180, and Comanche 400 airplane, as well as a Bell Jet Ranger and Bell 47 helicopter. At the time, Craig was the youngest helicopter pilot in the world.  On his 17th birthday he received his Private License in both airplanes and helicopters.  On his 18th birthday he received his Commercial License in both.  At age 19, Craig put his love for flying on hold to serve a 2-year mission for his Church in a foreign country. 

The first half of Craig’s career found him working for his father’s company, Hosking Helicopters, flying helicopters in high mountain, long-line sling operations.  At age 21 he was flying an Aerospatiale Lama in the Chilean Andes at 13-17,000 feet slinging drill components.  Several landings were conducted above 20,000 ft.  By age 25 he had purchased his first Pitts airplane and personally installed landing gear on the top.  This gave birth to a new and unconventional airshow act as Craig became the only person to ever take off and land an airplane upside down.  He named his act, “Double Take” and performed for many years on the airshow circuit.

 Craig moved to Hollywood in 1987 and rapidly became the most sought after camera and stunt pilot in the movie industry.  Currently, Craig has worked on over 375 movies, television shows and commercials, likely more than anyone in history.  Additionally he has performed 3 intentional airplane crashes!  In 1988 the International Council of Airshows awarded its highest honor, the Art Scholl Memorial Award to Craig.  He is also a 3-time winner of the Taurus Stunt Award, the highest honor that Hollywood gives to its stunt performers. Craig has over 22,000 hours in more than 260 types of airplanes, helicopters, jets and war birds. He proudly claims less than 2,000 of those hours involved an autopilot.  His time is evenly split between airplanes and helicopters.  Craig’s ratings include, Airplane Single Engine Land, Airplane Multi-Engine Land, Single Engine Sea, Rotorcraft, Glider, Instrument, and CFI. He’s visited over 75 countries and has worked as a movie pilot in more than 55 of them, holding 10 foreign licenses.  Craig worked in conjunction with the FAA in developing the current Aerobatic Competency Evaluator program and was one of the first 10 ACE evaluators.  He also helped develop the FAA Motion Picture Operations Manual allowing greater flexibility in complying with the FAA regulations while performing unusual flying for movies and stunts.  Craig is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, the Directors Guild, Stunts Unlimited and is the only pilot ever to be invited into The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that votes for the Oscars.

Craig and his wife Rebecca are the parents and stepparents of 6 children, and 10 grand children, They are active members of their Church and have spent decades mentoring, teaching and leading the youth.