a trip down memory lane. The one story that always stayed with me was when he pointed out the building where Charles Lindbergh fl ew mail from Chicago to St Louis I believe. He reminisced telling the tale like it was yesterday! Once at the school, a few local FAA inspectors stopped in to audit our tests. I got nervous, thinking to myself they were going to watch Coff ey give us our test and let nothing slide. The thought ran through my head — “Boy are we in for it!” Instead, they looked a bit nervous. I could tell they held Coff ey in high regards like he was the ranking offi cial there. All along the way, my young self still had no idea who Coff ey was. After leaving that day and doing some research I found out that Cornelius Coff ey was the fi rst African American man to hold both a pilots and mechanics license. He started the fi rst African American- owned and certifi ed fl ight school as well as many other extraordinary aviation fi rsts. Cornelius’s wife, Willa Brown, was also a pilot and the fi rst black member of the Civil Air Patrol. She was a pioneer in her own rights in the aviation world for both African Americans and women. One noted fact was many of the original Tuskegee Airmen got their initial training at the Coff ey, school which reminded me of a story told by my Grandfather. After


he was shipped stateside, he went to teach gunnery school in Texas, and he had a class of African American soldiers who were the best he had ever seen. He asked them why they were so good? They told him all they did is travel and go to training schools because they wouldn’t let them fi ght in the war. I can’t even imagine that now! Looking back on that day, it was probably better I did not know who Coff ey was, because that way I was able to enjoy my time with him without the nervousness I am sure I would have felt. He lived into his 90’s passing a few years after I met him. I feel truly blessed to have stood so close to such a man as Coff ey — a man that gave me my start in aviation you could say, and I guess a bit of guilt of not realizing how diffi cult his start in aviation must have been. He was the fi rst man to tell me my new certifi cate was a license to learn. At one of my stops on my


aviation road, I ended up in the Gulf of Mexico working for Tex- Air Helicopters. Anybody who has heard of Tex-Air has probably heard of its founder Ed Behne, a one-of-a-kind man for sure. He was a small man in height and larger than life in personality — doing all his business with a unique one-of- a-kind laugh and a handshake, in that good old Texas fashion kind of


way. Just like my Grandfather and Cornelius, Behne never spoke of his personal accomplishments. Behne, I found ou,t was not only a two-time Distinguished Flying Cross recipient, but the second most decorated pilot in the Vietnam war as an UH-1 pilot. After working with him for years I could tell he would be the pilot who went back for one more fl ight to get the last guys home. Again, I think its best I met him fi rst before I knew his legacy, allowing me to get to know him. He always treated me well and more importantly my family, greeting my wife with a smile and a hug whenever she came to visit, and was always happy to hold our baby son. Unfortunately, Behne has passed on but his bigger-than-life personality will live on for quite some time. This aviation career has taken me


from Canada to Mexico and too many states in between to name. Having these opportunities to meet and interact with so many unique and wonderful individuals reminds me of how lucky I am. What other career would allow me to meet real pioneers and heroes of an industry? Aviation, being only a few short generations old, has given me that opportunity. I always tell people I have a career, not a job. That is a big diff erence in a small world.


47


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68