Paul Howard Poberezny (September 14, 1921 – August 22, 2013) was an American aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting homebuilt aircraft. Poberezny is widely considered as the first person to have popularized the tradition of aircraft homebuilding in the United States. Through his work founding EAA and the organization's annual convention in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, he had the reputation of helping inspire millions of people to get involved in grassroots aviation. Many attribute his legacy with the growth and sustainment of the US general aviation industry in the later part of the 20th century and into the early 21st. For the last two decades of his tenure as chairman of the EAA from 1989–2009, he worked closely with his son, aerobatic pilot and EAA president Tom Poberezny, to expand the organization and create several new programs within it, including an aviation education program for youth and the EAA Museum, among other initiatives. In addition to his longtime experience as a military aviator (earning all seven types of pilot wings offered by the armed services), Poberezny was also an instructor, air show, air race and test pilot who frequently test flew his own homebuilt designs as well as various aircraft built by the EAA, such as the EAA Biplane. He flew for more than 70 years of his life in over 500 different types of aircraft, and was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1999. He also received the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy in 2002 and was ranked fourth on Flying's list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation, the highest-ranked living person on the list at the time of its release. Poberezny died of cancer in 2013, at the age of 91.
Early life Paul Poberezny was the oldest of three children born to Peter Poberezny, a Ukrainian migrant born and raised in Terebovlia, and Jettie Dowdy, who hailed from the southern United States. Born in Leavenworth County, Kansas, Paul grew up poor in a tar paper shack in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and never experienced indoor plumbing until he went to school. He became interested in aviation at an early age and built model airplanes as his first educational experience into aircraft design. He then learned how to fly and repair aircraft in high school, starting with a WACO Primary Glider and Porterfield 35 monoplane, and followed by an American Eagle biplane after high school. Having never attended college, Poberezny once described learning to fly and maintain the Eagle as the closest thing he ever had to a college education experience.
Experimental Aircraft Association
Poberezny founded the Experimental Aircraft Association out of his Hales Corners, Wisconsin home in 1953. It started as predominately an aircraft homebuilding organization in his basement, but later went on to capture all aspects of general aviation internationally. Poberezny retired as EAA President in 1989, remaining as chairman of the organization until 2009. As of 2017, the organization had approximately 200,000 members in more than 100 countries. In 1953, the EAA released a two-page newsletter named The Experimenter (later renamed Sport Aviation). The newsletter was first published and written by Paul and his wife Audrey Poberezny along with other volunteers. The now-monthly magazine focuses on experimental homebuilding and other general aviation topics, including antique, war, and classic aircraft. EAA's annual convention and fly-in (now known as EAA AirVenture Oshkosh) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin attracts a total attendance in excess of 600,000 people, 10,000 aircraft, and 1,000 different forums & workshops annually, making it the largest of its kind in the world. It was first held in 1953 at what is now Timmerman Field in Milwaukee, and attracted only a handful of airplanes. Towards the late '50s, the event outgrew Timmerman Field and was moved to the Rockford, Illinois Municipal Airport (now Chicago Rockford International Airport). There, attendance at the fly-in continued to grow until the Rockford airport was too small to accommodate the crowds, and so it was moved to Oshkosh's Wittman Regional Airport in 1970. Paul's son, aerobatic world champion Tom Poberezny, was the chairman of the annual EAA AirVenture Convention from 1977 to August 2011, and was president of EAA from 1989 to September 2010. In March 2009, Paul stepped down as Chairman of EAA and his son took on these duties as well. Tom had a large impact on the expansive growth of the organization and convention over the more than two decades that he led them with his father. The EAA spawned the creation of numerous aviation programs and activities within the organization, including a technical counselor program, flight advisor program, youth introduction-to-aviation program (the Young Eagles), National Cadet Special Activity program as part of the Civil Air Patrol (National Blue Beret), and more. In addition, AirVenture has nearly a $200 million annual economic impact on the surrounding region of Wisconsin and inspired the formation of other similar events such as Tannkosh in Germany and Sun 'n Fun in Florida, as well as similar organizations such as the Aircraft Kit Industry Association founded by pioneer homebuilder Richard VanGrunsven.
Military career Poberezny served for 30 years in the Wisconsin Air National Guard and United States Air Force, including active duty during World War II and the Korean War. He retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and attained all seven aviation wings offered by the military: glider pilot, service pilot, rated pilot, liaison pilot, senior pilot, Army aviator, and command pilot.
Aircraft experience
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
