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Recent news from the aviation world

New leaders named for key House committees

The results of the 2018 election mean aviation advocates will see a number of new faces leading key committees in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats were set to take control in January. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) serves alongside him as ranking member. —aopa.org

National Aviation Hall of Fame names 2019 honorees

Three heroes of aerospace and military aviation, and three names intimately intertwined with general aviation through the years, will be enshrined as the National Aviation Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The late Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, a World War II ace, Medal of Honor winner, and the organizer of the legendary Black Sheep Squadron; Col. Guion S. “Guy” Bluford Jr., retired astronaut, fighter pilot, and aerospace engineer who flew on four Space Shuttle missions; Brig. Gen. Charles Duke, a retired astronaut who in 1972 became the tenth person to walk on the moon during the Apollo 16 mission; John and Martha King, co-chairs and co-owners of King Schools, the flight training institution that has delivered courses by video and online to millions of pilots in training; and Katherine Stinson, who earned her pilot certificate in 1912 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, becoming the fourth woman in America to earn a pilot certificate—and whose flying inspired her brothers to start the Stinson Aircraft Co.—aopa.org

CAP taps federal funds for training

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) announced a funding initiative with the U.S. Air Force to encourage youth to enter military, commercial, or additional aviation careers in the face of a pilot shortage that is expected to affect the future of air travel. The Youth Aviation Initiative includes $1 million for cadet flight instruction; $500,000 for science, technology, engineering, and math support; $500,000 for career exploration activities; and $400,000 for cadet orientation flights. —aopa.org

Klapmeier to step down as Cirrus CEO

Will remain in a senior advisory role

Cirrus co-founder Dale Klapmeier will step down as chief executive officer of the innovative Duluth, Minnesota-based company that produces composite aircraft with airframe parachutes. The transition is expected to occur within the first half of 2019 as Cirrus looks for a new chief.

Klapmeier, who has served as CEO since 2011, will continue to be involved with the company in a senior advisory role. He stepped back from day-to-day operations in 2013 to focus on the company’s strategy and new products.

“Re-imagining personal transportation has been our lifelong mission at Cirrus Aircraft,” Klapmeier said. “We’ve changed the face of aviation over the past 30 years—from delivering more than 7,000 of the world’s best-selling high-performance piston aircraft, to fundamentally rethinking how we travel with the introduction of the world’s first single-engine personal jet—the Vision Jet, to transforming our business into a lifestyle company that defines our path ahead.”

Klapmeier and his brother, Alan, co-founded Cirrus in 1984. The brothers were inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014. Alan now heads One Aviation, a company formed from merging Kestrel Aviation and Eclipse Aerospace.

“Dale’s significant leadership over the years has propelled Cirrus to its position as an industry leader and innovator. I am pleased to hear that he will remain in a strategic role at Cirrus and look forward to seeing the company continue its growth in general aviation,” said AOPA President Mark Baker.

Cirrus launched the piston Cirrus SR20 in 1999 and SR22 in 2000. The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System is one of the cornerstones of all of the company’s aircraft. —Alyssa J. Cobb

MILESTONES

Long-time aviation journalist dies

Jack Elliott Schapiro penned ‘Wings Over Jersey’

Jack Elliott Schapiro died November 20, 2018, at the age of 94. Known professionally and in the aviation community by his pen name, Jack Elliott, he is best known for writing “Wings Over Jersey,” a column in New Jersey’s largest paper, the Newark Star-Ledger. He was a husband of 49 years to Esta-Ann; a father of two children, Amy and Stephen; and a grandfather to Hudson.

“Wings Over Jersey” appeared each Sunday for more than 38 years, from June 9, 1963, through December 30, 2001. It is thought to be the longest-running general aviation column in a mainstream publication. In 2008, he published Adventures in Flying, which is a compilation of his most compelling columns.

Shapiro was a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army's 83rd Chemical Mortar Battalion in Africa, Italy, and France. He fought at Anzio, Italy—an amphibious assault in January 1944 conceived by Winston Churchill that was a precursor to the D-Day invasion at Normandy six months later. He was part of the liberation of Rome in June 1944 and then flew into Southern France in the back of a Waco CG–4 glider.

After returning from the war, he went to New York University on the GI Bill, and began his journalism career as a cub reporter at the Long Island Press before joining the Star-Ledger, working his way up to the position of Sunday editor.

After leaving the Star-Ledger, Shapiro embarked on a career in aviation public relations while continuing to write “Wings Over Jersey,” as well as freelance articles. His articles appeared in aviation publications such as AOPA Pilot, Air-List Ads, Airport Journals, Aviation International News, Flying, General Aviation News, Midwest Flyer, and Private Pilot, among others.

Over the years Schapiro won numerous awards for his writing from national and local aviation associations and, in 1986, he was elected to the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey. His fascination with aviation began in 1933 when he took his first flight as a 9-year-old in an open-cockpit New Standard biplane with his father and brother. He earned his private pilot certificate in 1954 and held a commercial pilot ceritifcate with instrument, glider, and single-engine seaplane ratings.

The family has requested donations be made to either the Adler Aphasia Center or the Commemorative Air Force B–29/B–24 Squadron.