Jurgis Kairys (born May 6, 1952 in Krasnojarsk, Siberia) is a Lithuanian aerobatic pilot and aeronautical engineer. He has won many awards for his flying and has invented several maneuvers, including the “Kairys Wheel.” He helped develop the Sukhoi Su-26, -29, and -31 aerobatic aircraft, and also has manufactured his own aerobatic aircraft, called the “Juka.”His interest in flying started at an early age when watching planes landing and taking off at an airstrip near his home in Lithuania. He became an airframe engineer and was able to start flying aerobatics at the Kaunas Flying Club in Lithuania. His talents and determination were obvious and he soon became a member of the elite National team. The style of acrobatics we see today was developed over twenty years ago by Lithuanians Stepas Arishkevichius and Jurgis competing with each other while on the Soviet team, and coaching each other.
