Who Knew? The Pope Has A Pilot's License | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-11.17.25

AirborneNextGen-
11.11.25

Airborne-Unlimited-11.12.25

Airborne-FltTraining-11.13.25

AirborneUnlimited-11.14.25

LIVE MOSAIC Town Hall (Archived): www.airborne-live.net

Mon, Feb 25, 2013

Who Knew? The Pope Has A Pilot's License

But The Holy See Never Learned To Drive A Car

The retirement of Pope Benedict XVI came as a surprise to Catholics around the world, and his retirement ceremony will likely be full of pomp and circumstance, broadcast live around the world.

But it's less well known that when the Pope flies off into retirement aboard the papal helicopter ... he wouldn't necessarily have to be sitting in the back waving. He could be up front in the cockpit flying the aircraft himself.

Information from the "Fun Facts" section of the Catholic News Agency website indicates that "Pope Benedict XVI has a pilot's license for the papal helicopter and likes to fly from the Vatican to the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, but the pope does not have a driver's license as he never learned to drive a car." The website Snoring Scholar also indicates that the pope is licensed to fly single-engine airplanes.

The New York Times reports that Pope Benedict XVI has enjoyed flying the papal helo from the Vatican to Castel Gandolfo, but for this retirement flight, he'll be a passenger.

FMI: www.catholicnewsagency.com/

Advertisement

More News

Classic Aero-TV: Extra Aircraft Announces the Extra 330SX

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): An Even Faster Rolling Extra! Jim Campbell joined General Manager of Extra Aircraft Duncan Koerbel at AirVenture 2023 to talk about what’s up and>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (11.15.25)

“Receiving our Permit to Fly and starting Phase 4 marks a defining moment for Vertical Aerospace. Our team has spent months verifying every core system under close regulatory>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (11.15.25): Middle Marker

Middle Marker A marker beacon that defines a point along the glideslope of an ILS normally located at or near the point of decision height (ILS Category I). It is keyed to transmit>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Lancair 320

The Experienced Pilot Chose To Operate In Instrument Meteorological Conditions Without An Instrument Flight Rules Clearance Analysis: The airplane was operated on a personal cross->[...]

Airborne 11.14.25: Last DC-8 Retires, Boeing Recovery, Teeny Trig TXP

Also: ATI Strike Prep, Spirit Still Troubled, New CubCrafters Dealership, A-29 Super Tucano Samaritan’s Purse is officially moving its historic Douglas DC-8 cargo jet into re>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC