Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/194874
To w e r Fr e q u e n c y Thank You, Paul Poberezny By Jack Pelton It was a very sad day on August 22 when EAA Founder Paul Poberezny passed away. Paul was nearly 92 years old and had been able to spend at least some time touring the AirVenture Oshkosh grounds in his famous VW "Red One" not long before he died. Paul's family and all of us in the EAA family can draw at least some comfort from the fact that he lived a very long and remarkable life. Paul was vibrant and involved with the aviation people he loved almost to the very end. I won't dwell on the history of Paul's life because the highlights are covered later in this issue beginning on Page 48. I would add that Paul's contribution to his country and to all of aviation are the best of the greatest generation, and he was the epitome of all that implies. What I do want us all to think about is the title Paul earned and so richly deserved—EAA founder. The founder of anything is unique, and can never be replaced or duplicated. Paul's contribution as EAA founder will live on as long as people participate in all segments of aviation. A founder is someone who lays the foundation for others to build on. A founder has an initial vision and can articulate it. A founder persuades others to join in the effort. And a founder sets the tone for others to follow. Paul was an unusual founder in many ways, not the least of which was his longevity. Many founders last only a short time, but Paul remained the personification of EAA for 60 years. He saw the organization he founded grow beyond any early expectation. He was there as EAA expanded to attract people interested in all forms of private aviation and from all parts of the country and around the world. Like most founders, Paul didn't realize that he had founded anything in the early days of EAA. He and the other early EAAers were pursuing their aviation interOn the cover: Te Sam LS in fight. (Photography by Jean-Pierre Bonin) 2 Vol.2 N o.10 / October 2013 ests and inviting anyone to join them. It was only after years had passed and the association had grown that there was time to look back and realize those small, early organizational steps were actually the foundation of something that would help carry personal aviation forward. Even though he didn't realize it at the time, Paul did have the unique skills to found an organization, and he had the essential ability to lay the groundwork to make EAA last. Paul was our original leader, but what made him a founder was creating a structure that would allow EAA to grow and attract new people to share our aviation passion long into the future. With Paul gone, and many of the very early EAAers also passing on, it is time for all of us to recognize what Paul and the other EAA pioneers have done. They created a firm foundation. And now it falls to all of us to build on that foundation and carry EAA forward into a future fraught with change and new challenges we can't predict. Paul was an evangelist for all things aviation, but his core theology was people more than airplanes. He was fond of saying that airplanes bring us together, but friendship keeps us together. He welcomed all, saw opportunity in everyone and everything that flies, and remained an optimist to the end. As leader of EAA's board of directors I can tell you that each director shares Paul's passion for aviation, we welcome all with an interest in flight, and we are prepared to do everything in our power to preserve the freedom to fly and attract as many people as possible to join us. Paul laid a firm foundation those 60 years ago. We will honor his memory by building on that foundation to move EAA forward and to make it vibrant and relevant for generations to come. Thank you, Paul, from every EAAer.