LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD For long and significant service to the international vertical aviation community Anthony “Tony” Cosimano Owner, International Aircraft Purchase & Lease, Warwick, New York, USA


Anthony “Tony” Cosimano has enjoyed a long and storied career filled with not only captivating adventures but also key actions that influenced the future of the helicopter industry. “Tony has traversed over 60 years of industry change, technology, and advancement,” wrote AW139 Capt. Stacy Sheard in her nomination of Cosimano. “He was often the first, or one of the first, to fly commercial helicopters in many places around the world. Tony’s history has propelled the helicopter industry into what we know today.” It all began in Jamestown, New York, in 1956. Celebrity couple Lucille Ball


and Desi Arnaz were in town for the world premiere of Forever, Darling. He watched the stars arrive via a Bell 47—his first time seeing a flying helicopter. Te wonder of it stayed with him. Cosimano planned to be a musician. He attended the University of


Michigan and then the US Military Academy at West Point, where he played trumpet in the US Military Academy Band. Joining the academy’s flying club, Cosimano learned to fly airplanes,


but helicopters captivated him more. He was one of a few helicopter pilot candidates accepted into the US Army flight school, earning his helicopter wings in 1963. He deployed to Vietnam the next year, flying armed Bell UH-1B helicopters with the Cobra Platoon of the 114th Aviation Company. He left the army in 1966 after an eventful flying career that included several


close calls, returning to New York, where he continued pursuing his passion. Chesapeake & Potomac Airways hired him to fly AT&T telephone lines in a Bell 47.


Anthony “Tony” Cosimano In 1968, Cosimano cofounded Decair Helicopters with two partners. Te company offered utility, flight training, and


“Tony’s history has propelled the helicopter industry into what we know today.”


charter services in the New York City area and beyond. One of Cosimano’s memorable experiences was transporting organizers, performers, and medical teams to the 1969 Woodstock (New York) Music and Art Fair. Tat job boosted Decair’s profile, leading to a police contract, out-


—Stacy Sheard, AW139 corporate helicopter captain, Executive Jet Management/Fanatics


Sponsored by


of-state utility contracts, movie shoots, an oil exploration contract in Peru, and missions supporting multiple rescue operators. At that time, Cosimano also formed the Helicopter Emergency Lift Program to provide helicopter support to local agencies at no cost to the community. Cosimano sold his Decair shares in 1978 and accepted a management


position at Envirogas in Buffalo, New York, to create its helicopter department. He did the same later at Metromedia and AIG. He also chaired a worldwide customer advisory board in the early-development stages of the Leonardo AW139. After retiring in 2007, Cosimano took a position helping bring AW139


and A109 series helicopters from factory acceptance to completion, sales, and delivery stages. He also started International Aircraft Purchase & Lease to provide consulting and pilot services. “It’s definitely a passion, and that passion keeps me completely enmeshed,” Cosimano says. “Every day is exciting, and I’m still flying, still very much involved.”


MARCH 2024 ROTOR 69


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