Frank Stoltz of Miles City, a Wright Brothers Master Pilot

On August 5, 2016, veteran pilot, patriot, and aviator, Frank Stoltz was awarded the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award during the Montana Antique Airplane Association (MAAA) Fly-In at Three Forks. Frank was a founding member of the MAAA in 1978 and remains an active member today. He is a soft spoken advocate for all things aviation and is quick to offer help to aviation and veterans organizations.

Before he was 20, Frank Stoltz finished sixth grade and welding school, earned a GED, and worked in a Seattle shipyard. When he was barely 20, he was drafted into the U. S. Army Air Corps, soloed in a Boeing Stearman biplane, then spent his time as top-gunner and back-up pilot in a B-24 over Germany. In 1944, his bomber was shot down and he spent the rest of WWII in a German prisoner-of-war camp.

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