{"id":27077628,"date":"2026-10-07T11:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=27077628"},"modified":"2026-10-07T11:33:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:33:40","slug":"morgan-freeman-pilot-air-force-licence-sj30-jet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/morgan-freeman-pilot-air-force-licence-sj30-jet\/","title":{"rendered":"Morgan Freeman, Pilot: From Air Force Radar Tech to His Own Jet"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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The first part is close to the truth. The last part is off by seven years, and the version in between leaves out the best details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freeman, now 89, did serve in the US Air Force, did come within reach of pilot training, and did turn away from it. He then waited more than four decades to learn to fly, got his licence at 65, and went on to own one of the fastest light jets ever certified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li><strong>Born:<\/strong> 1 June 1937, Memphis, Tennessee<\/li><li><strong>Air Force service:<\/strong> 1955&ndash;59, Automatic Tracking Radar Repairman; left as airman first class<\/li><li><strong>First flying lesson:<\/strong> July 2002<\/li><li><strong>Private pilot licence:<\/strong> October 2002, at 65<\/li><li><strong>Further ratings:<\/strong> Instrument (May 2003), multi-engine (June 2003)<\/li><li><strong>Aircraft owned:<\/strong> Cessna 414 (2004), Cessna Citation 501 (2005), SJ30-2 (from 2009)<\/li><li><strong>SJ30 order:<\/strong> Launch customer for the SJ30i and SJ30x, 1 May 2014, at 76<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Radar Repairman, Not Fighter Pilot<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freeman was acting long before he was flying. He made his school-play debut at nine and won a drama competition at twelve. In 1955 he turned down a partial drama scholarship at Jackson State and enlisted in the US Air Force instead. He did not fly there. His job was Automatic Tracking Radar Repairman, and he left in 1959 as an airman first class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He did get close to the cockpit. As he later told AARP The Magazine, he was nearing acceptance for pilot training when he was allowed to sit in a jet, which he identified in a 1988 New York Magazine interview as a T-33 trainer. The experience cured him of the dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;When I was getting close to being accepted for pilot training, I was allowed to get in a jet airplane. I sat there looking at all those switches and dials, and I got the distinct feeling that I was sitting in the nose of a bomb.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Morgan Freeman<\/strong> &mdash; to AARP The Magazine<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His conclusion, in the same interview, was blunt: he realised he was not in love with flying itself, only &ldquo;with the idea of this&rdquo;. So he left the Air Force and went after acting. Success came slowly. His breakthrough film, Street Smart, came out in March 1987, when he was 49, and earned him the first of his Oscar nominations.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Licence at 65<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The idea of flying never quite went away. According to General Aviation News, Freeman took his first flying lesson in July 2002 and earned his private pilot licence in October 2002, at 65. He added an instrument rating in May 2003 and a multi-engine rating a month later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;I started flying at my desk in school.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Morgan Freeman<\/strong> &mdash; to General Aviation News, 2008<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was candid about one of the practical attractions. Flying himself, he told the same magazine, was &ldquo;so much easier than being strip-searched&rdquo;, a dig at airline security queues. He moved up quickly: a twin-engine Cessna 414 in 2004, a Cessna Citation 501 jet in 2005 and, from 2009, an SJ30-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/sj30-2-light-business-jet-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"An SJ30-2 light business jet on the ground\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An SJ30-2, the light jet type Morgan Freeman has owned since 2009. This is not his aircraft. Photo: Rob Hodgkins, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The SJ30: A Small Jet That Flies High<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The SJ30-2 was certified on 27 October 2005. It is a small jet with big numbers: a top speed of 486 knots, a ceiling of 49,000 feet and, its maker claimed, the ability to reach Mach 0.83. It also holds a sea-level cabin pressure up to 41,000 feet, so passengers feel as if they are on the ground. Very few were built, around eight in total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Freeman&rsquo;s SJ30, registered N30GZ, became his travelling aircraft. Reports at the time of his 2014 order credited him with more than 1,000 hours in it, flights to 14 countries and 12 Atlantic crossings. In 2009 he flew it to Dubai himself and told Gulf News what he liked about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a bird that flies easily, flies high and flies long.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Morgan Freeman<\/strong> &mdash; to Gulf News, 2009<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WNmmbRFUpR0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Order Was 2014, Not 2021<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is where the viral version goes wrong. Freeman did not order a new jet in 2021 at 84. On 1 May 2014, at 76, he was announced as the launch customer for SyberJet&rsquo;s planned new versions of the SJ30, ordering one SJ30i and one SJ30x. Whether either aircraft was ever delivered has not been confirmed in any source we could find, and the programme built very few aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Did He Fly Himself to Film Sets?<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Partly. Freeman did fly his own aircraft, including on long trips like the 2009 flight to Dubai. But like most owners of fast jets, he often flew with a professional pilot, and the claim that he routinely flew himself to film sets is overstated. On 5 December 2015, for example, his jet diverted to Tunica, Mississippi, while being flown by pilot Jimmy Hobson. Freeman was on board as a passenger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 auto 24px;width:100%;max-width:478px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"478\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/morgan-freeman-dod-2016.jpg\" alt=\"Morgan Freeman at a US Department of Defense event in 2016\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Morgan Freeman at a US Department of Defense event in 2016. Photo: US Department of Defense, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/c6JGI-D6U3c\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the Viral Post Gets Wrong<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The broad strokes hold up. Freeman served in the Air Force, came close to pilot training, chose acting and learned to fly late in life. Three details do not. He was a radar repairman, not a trainee fighter pilot. The jet order the post describes happened in 2014, when he was 76, not in 2021 at 84. And he did not routinely fly himself to film sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The post also suggests that flying never left him. That may be true in spirit, but we could not confirm that he still flies at 89. The registration N30GZ has been held by a registration dealer since October 2023, which suggests it is no longer on his jet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DeJvisij9U7\/\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\"background:#fff;border:0;margin:24px auto;max-width:540px;min-width:280px;width:100%\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DeJvisij9U7\/\">View this post on Instagram<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Sources: AARP The Magazine (as quoted by Biography.com and Grunge); New York Magazine (1988); General Aviation News (2008); Gulf News (2009); SyberJet launch-customer announcement (May 2014); Wikipedia, SyberJet SJ30; FAA aircraft registry (N30GZ); news reports on the December 2015 diversion; AAP (August 2026)<\/em><\/p>\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Was Morgan Freeman a pilot in the Air Force?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. Morgan Freeman served in the US Air Force from 1955 to 1959 as an Automatic Tracking Radar Repairman and left as an airman first class. He came close to being accepted for pilot training, but after sitting in a jet, which he described as feeling like &ldquo;sitting in the nose of a bomb&rdquo;, he decided to pursue acting instead.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When did Morgan Freeman get his pilot licence?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Morgan Freeman took his first flying lesson in July 2002 and earned his private pilot licence in October 2002, at the age of 65. He added an instrument rating in May 2003 and a multi-engine rating in June 2003.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What plane does Morgan Freeman own?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Morgan Freeman has owned an SJ30-2 light business jet, registered N30GZ, since 2009. Before that he owned a Cessna 414 twin from 2004 and a Cessna Citation 501 jet from 2005.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did Morgan Freeman buy a jet at 84?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. The viral claim that Morgan Freeman ordered a jet in 2021 at 84 is wrong. On 1 May 2014, at 76, he was announced as launch customer for SyberJet&rsquo;s planned SJ30i and SJ30x, ordering one of each. Delivery of those aircraft has not been confirmed.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Does Morgan Freeman fly himself?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Morgan Freeman has flown his own aircraft, including a 2009 flight in his SJ30 to Dubai, but he often flew with a professional pilot. When his jet diverted to Tunica, Mississippi, in December 2015, it was being flown by pilot Jimmy Hobson and Freeman was a passenger. It is not confirmed that he still flies today.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How fast is the SJ30 jet?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The SJ30-2, certified in October 2005, has a top speed of 486 knots and a ceiling of 49,000 feet, and its maker claimed it could reach Mach 0.83. It keeps a sea-level cabin pressure up to 41,000 feet. Only around eight were built.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Was Morgan Freeman a pilot in the Air Force?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. Morgan Freeman served in the US Air Force from 1955 to 1959 as an Automatic Tracking Radar Repairman and left as an airman first class. He came close to being accepted for pilot training, but after sitting in a jet, which he described as feeling like \\\"sitting in the nose of a bomb\\\", he decided to pursue acting instead.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"When did Morgan Freeman get his pilot licence?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Morgan Freeman took his first flying lesson in July 2002 and earned his private pilot licence in October 2002, at the age of 65. He added an instrument rating in May 2003 and a multi-engine rating in June 2003.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What plane does Morgan Freeman own?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Morgan Freeman has owned an SJ30-2 light business jet, registered N30GZ, since 2009. Before that he owned a Cessna 414 twin from 2004 and a Cessna Citation 501 jet from 2005.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did Morgan Freeman buy a jet at 84?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. The viral claim that Morgan Freeman ordered a jet in 2021 at 84 is wrong. On 1 May 2014, at 76, he was announced as launch customer for SyberJet\u2019s planned SJ30i and SJ30x, ordering one of each. Delivery of those aircraft has not been confirmed.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Does Morgan Freeman fly himself?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Morgan Freeman has flown his own aircraft, including a 2009 flight in his SJ30 to Dubai, but he often flew with a professional pilot. When his jet diverted to Tunica, Mississippi, in December 2015, it was being flown by pilot Jimmy Hobson and Freeman was a passenger. It is not confirmed that he still flies today.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How fast is the SJ30 jet?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The SJ30-2, certified in October 2005, has a top speed of 486 knots and a ceiling of 49,000 feet, and its maker claimed it could reach Mach 0.83. It keeps a sea-level cabin pressure up to 41,000 feet. Only around eight were built.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/gary-sinise-u-2-flight-beale-lt-dan-band-50-states\/\">Gary Sinise at 70,000 Feet: Lt. Dan, the U-2 and a Life Spent Thanking Troops<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/sully-sullenberger-alzheimers-diagnosis-robin-roberts-interview\/\">Sully Sullenberger on His Alzheimer&#8217;s Diagnosis<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/top-gun-doubled-navy-recruitment-overnight\/\">Top Gun and Navy Recruiting: What the Film Really Did<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Morgan Freeman served four years in the US Air Force, came close to pilot training and walked away. He finally learned to fly at 65 and went on to own a fast light jet. The real story, with the dates the viral version gets wrong.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":27075757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27077628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Morgan Freeman, Pilot: The Real Story of His Flying | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Morgan Freeman fixed radar in the US Air Force, walked away from pilot training and earned his licence at 65. 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