About Vicky Benzing
Born And Raised In California, Vicky Benzing Is An Accomplished Pilot, Skydiver, Aerobatic Performer, And Air Racer.  With Over 9500 Hours Of Flight Time And Over 1300 Parachute Jumps, Vicky Has A Passion For Everything Airborne. Her Flying Career Has Spanned Nearly Forty Years, And She Currently Holds An Airline Transport Pilot Rating As Well As A Commercial Rating In Helicopters, Seaplanes, And Gliders.

Vicky Still Remembers Her First Flight In Her Uncle’s Airplane When She Was Just A Small Child.  Inspired By That Flight At A Very Young Age, Vicky Learned To Fly In A Family Friend’s Antique Taylorcraft In Her Hometown Of Watsonville, On The California Coast.  She Was Thrilled By The Spins, Loops, And Rolls That Her Ex-Military Instructor Taught Her And Subsequently Took Aerobatic Instruction From Legendary Pilot Amelia Reid.

Vicky’s Aerobatic Flying Took A Brief Back Seat While She Earned Her Ph.D. In Chemistry From Uc Berkeley And Began Working In The Silicon Valley High Tech Industry.  But Her Passion For Spins, Loops, And Rolls Soon Returned When She Took An Aerobatic Flight With Air Show Legend Wayne Handley.

In 2005, Vicky Began Her Aerobatic Training In Earnest.  She Began Competing In Aerobatic Contests Throughout The Us, Working Her Way Up Through The Many Categories. In Between Contests, Vicky Also Began Performing In Local Air Shows.  Today Vicky Holds A Surface Level Aerobatic Waiver And Has Flown Hundreds Of Air Show Performances At Venues Across The United States, Including As An Invited Performer At The Greatest Airshow In The World, Eaa Airventure In Oshkosh, Wi.

About Sukhoi West Demo Team   

The Sukhoi West Demo Team brings together two highly accomplished pilots with the best aerobatic aircraft in the world. Sukhois have been flown by the top World Aerobatic pilots year after year in competitions and air shows.

Randy Howell is the Patriots Jet Team Owner and recently started flying the Sukhoi SU-26 in addition to leading the Patriots 6-ship jet team.  Randy has accumulated more than 27,000 hours of flight time and took early retirement as a 747-400 Capt. He’s an advanced instructor in aerobatics, formation, and UPRT, as well as a Check Airman in a multitude of aircraft. He has flown air shows for 24 years and raced in three different classes at the Reno Air Races. He holds an ATP with 24 different type ratings from MiG-17s to the Boeing 747.

Cory Lovell’s experience comes from taking to the sky at the age of 12, followed by years of training with some of the best pilots in the world, including Sergei Boriak, Elena Klimovich, and Bill Stein. Cory’s also an aerobatic instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area and is Type Rated in the L-39 as well as several other unique aircraft. The Sukhoi West Demo Team spends much of their time working with aspiring pilots in the local community to help them realize their dreams.

Sukhoi West Demo Team website click here.