'Old' woman flies upside down

Filed in archive Airshows on October 23, 2006

Debby Rihn Harvey is reportedly afraid of roller coasters. She even says she's afraid of heights. That's pretty meek talk for a woman considered one of the best aerobatic pilots in the world.

Tony Sakkis of the Galveston Daily News caught up with Rihn Harvey at the Wings Over Houston show and came back with a charming look at the daredevil who won't step foot on a carnival ride.

"I'm afraid of carnival rides," Rihn Harvey said. "I'm afraid of heights. It sounds crazy, I know. A lot of pilots are. But I don't think I can fall out of an airplane."

Rihn Harvey, who lives in Pearland, is a relatively normal human being. She doesn't gamble, doesn't take chances in any other aspect of her life. She just happens to love flying upside-down, backward and in what looks like an out-of-control free-fall from time to time. She swears it's nothing illogical.

"I try to be a role model. I want to show that even an old woman can fly upside down."

Read more about the "little old lady" and her CAP 232, a French-built single-seater that she's used to win 13 different titles over 25 years - after retiring from her job as a Southwest Airlines pilot.