Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine – December 2021/January 2022 Online Issue
OSHKOSH, WIS. – The Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame banquet was held October 23, 2021, at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. “Individually, those inducted have accomplished a great deal. Collectively, they have contributed a great deal to the aviation community.” (WAHF)
Those inducted included William A. Blank, Daniel T. Knutson, Tad J. Oelstrom, John Moody, Robert R. Brackett, Dr. Sherwood Williams, and Donald G. Kiel.
(L/R) WAHF inductees Donald G. Kiel (2021); Scott Brackett, representing his father, 2020 inductee Robert R. Brackett (1926-2008); Lt. Gen. Tad J. Oelstrom (2020); Dr. William A. Blank (2021); Daniel T. Knutson (2021); and Dr. Sherwood Williams (2020). Not shown is John Moody (2020). Dave Weiman Photo
William A. Blank, MD of La Crosse, Wisconsin, grew up watching airplanes fly over his childhood home in Illinois from a nearby Air Force Base. His first flight was on a Lockheed Constellation on a trip to Europe just prior to starting medical school. While an intern, Blank learned to fly at Anoka County/Blaine Airport in Minneapolis in 1968. While he was an ophthalmology resident in Philadelphia, Blank got a tailwheel endorsement in a J-3 Cub at Van Sant Airport, Erwinna, Pa. from a barnstormer who had flown in airshows and learned to fly in a Curtiss Jenny. His pilot’s license number was 1000. That’s when Blank was first exposed to aerobatics – a skill he would later become known for at airshows throughout the Midwest.
When Bill and his wife, Judy, moved to La Crosse in 1973, they purchased a 1946 Cessna 140. He got a Commercial Pilot Certificate in 1979, an Instrument Rating in 1981, and a Seaplane Rating in 2002. Blank took a 10-hour aerobatic course from Pete Myers of Chicago in Myers’ Decathlon at the recommendation of Tom Poberezny of EAA and the Eagles Aerobatic Team. Myers was a retired L-1011 pilot, an airshow performer, and a World War II flight instructor.
From that point on, Blank was hooked on aerobatics and went out and bought a 150 hp Decathlon. He became a Certified Flight Instructor so he could share his love for aerobatics with others.
In 1987, another friend asked Blank if he would put on an aerobatic demonstration at a pancake breakfast. That led to Blank getting an airshow waiver (Statement of Aerobatic Competency). Pilots are required to prove their aerobatic competency first from a minimum safe altitude, then as they gain experience, they can work their way down to the surface. Blank held a surface-level waiver for 27 of the 30 years he held an airshow waiver. He flew his last airshow performance in 2014. During his career, Blank flew 200 performances.
But retiring from learning new skills was not in Blank’s vocabulary. When he was 71, he got a multiengine Airline Transport Pilot Certificate. When he was 72, he learned to fly helicopters, and since the hall of fame banquet, he started flying gliders!
Throughout his career, Blank – who is an ophthalmologist by profession — has been committed to aviation medicine and has been an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) for most of his career. To this day, he regularly gives seminars to other AMEs and advises whoever holds the title of “Federal Air Surgeon.” As of 2021, Blank has been an AME for 42 years and a Senior AME for 35 years. He has also been an FAA ophthalmology consultant for about 25 years.
Bill Blank was the vice chairman of the La Crosse Regional Airport Board for 5 years. He is a past president of the La Crosse Area Flyers and EAA Chapter 307, and two of their three sons are pilots.
The 6000-hour pilot continues to teach flying, and unbeknown to Blank at the time, among the thousands of spectators in the audience at the Deke Slayton Airfest in La Crosse watching him perform, was Dave Weiman, the publisher of Midwest Flyer Magazine. A few years ago, Weiman invited Blank to become a contributing editor for the magazine. Blank agreed, and today he is the featured columnist for the magazine’s “High On Health” column.
Daniel T. Knutson of Lodi, Wisconsin was exposed to aviation since the age of 5 as his father restored aircraft. Like his father, Knutson restored aircraft and flew out of grass airstrips. His meticulous skill and interest made him an expert in aircraft restoration. From the late 1990s to 2006, Knutson was the chief judge of all Piper categories from the Sentimental Journey Fly-Ins. He was also asked to judge airplanes at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. In 2012, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh celebrated the 75th anniversary of the J-3 Cub and Knutson’s J-3 Cub led 175 Cubs from Hartford, Wisconsin where they gathered from throughout the country, to Oshkosh for the monumental fly-in. Knutson’s Cub was then displayed at Piper’s exhibit as the number one Cub available in the country!
Tad J. Oelstrom of Milwaukee and Waukesha, Wisconsin attended the Air Force Academy in 1961 where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. Upon graduation in 1965, he was commissioned a second lieutenant, and assigned to pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma, where he excelled at flying the T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon jets. Upon graduation, he flew the F-4 Phantom, and began his 30-plus-year career as a fighter pilot.
During his career, Oelstrom flew 20 types of aircraft which included the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and the British Hawker Hunter. He served in Southeast Asia, completed 220 combat missions, and concluded his military career amassing more than 4400 flight hours.
Awards and decorations Oelstrom has received include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses with oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, and the Air Medal with 15 oak leaf clusters.
Oelstrom was promoted through the ranks, serving as squadron and wing commander, and vice commander of the 9th Air Force, ending his flight assignments while commanding the 3rd Air Force. From 1997 to 2000, Oelstrom served as the 14th Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He retired in 2000 as a Lieutenant General.
John Moody is considered by many to be the “Father of Modern Ultralight Aviation.” He began his inventive career as a mechanical and development engineer in Milwaukee.
On March 15, 1975, above a frozen lake southwest of Milwaukee, Moody made aviation history by flying a device that looked a little like a nose-less and tailless biplane about 30 feet above the ice.
Moody pioneered the popularity of powered ultralight aviation by starting his business, Ultra Flying Machines of Wisconsin. From his experimentation, Moody has mixed various hang gliders with different engines and control surfaces and innovated the design of several ultralight aircraft. Additionally, he has performed at various airshows and has promoted the sport of ultralight flying through his teaching activities and speeches.
In 1999, Moody was inducted into the EAA Ultralight Hall of Fame. He also received the John F. Moody Award, named in his honor by the U.S. Ultralight Association.
It has been said that John Moody made it possible for humans to fly “almost” like a bird.
Robert R. “Bob” Brackett was the inventor of the universal “Brackett Aircraft Tow Bar,” and designed and built induction air filter frames for several general aviation aircraft.
Brackett was born in Waukegan, Ill., on July 28, 1926, and after graduating from high school, he enlisted into the Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet from 1944 to 1946. Post WWII, he graduated from Spartan School of Aeronautics as an A&E mechanic and flight engineer. In 1950, he was reactivated into the Air Force to serve as a crew chief and flew 66 combat cargo missions in Korea. He was released back to the states for pilot training, then returned to Korea as a fighter pilot in F-86 Sabres to fly an additional 60 missions before the war ended. Brackett returned to the states as a First Lieutenant and was chosen as one of the first pilots to fly the supersonic F-100 “Super Sabre” with the 435th Fighter Squadron at George Air Force Base, Calif.
Brackett’s love of aviation continued throughout his life. In 1954, he was in an automobile accident during his leave in Texas and met his future wife, Nancy, during his hospital recuperation. He then returned to Illinois to become the personal pilot for P.K. Wrigley of Wrigley Gum Company in Chicago, and flew DC3s for North Central Airlines out of Chicago Midway Airport. In 1959, he became the first airport manager and fixed base operator in Kenosha, Wis., operating Kenosha Aviation Services. There, he flew Twin Beeches, hauling cargo for American Motors, and operated a Part 141 flight school.
In a 1992 interview, Brackett told Midwest Flyer Magazine that while he was at Kenosha, he had a dozen different tow bars – one for each type of aircraft they serviced. “There was a spot on the wall for each tow bar, but they would still often get misplaced, and the mechanics could never find the one they needed, when they needed it,” said Brackett. So that’s when Brackett invented a universal tow bar that would fit all aircraft. And then came invention number two!
During the Vietnam conflict, jets were experiencing engine failures after only 200 hours of use because of all the dirt in the air. General Motors (GM) designed and began manufacturing a large air filter, which extended the life of the engine considerably. Brackett suggested to the Federal Aviation Administration that the air filters be approved for general aviation aircraft, but was told that the military specs made the design too costly. With a few modifications, Brackett met with General Motors in Flint, Mich., and proposed the new design to them. They liked the design and contracted with Brackett’s company to manufacture the brackets.
In 1975, the small sideline business of manufacturing airplane tow bars and air filters became full time, and Brackett moved Brackett Aircraft to Mesa, Arizona. He eventually expanded into helicopter ground support equipment because of his interest in helicopters. He earned his helicopter pilot certificate on his 65th birthday. He then moved his company to Kingman, Ariz. in 1984, where it was the third business established at the airport, now Kingman Airport Industrial Park.
In 1978, General Motors sold the entire line of air filters to Brackett Aircraft, their AC spark plugs to Auburn, and their fuel pumps to Lycoming. Since then, Brackett Aircraft has added more than 80 new models of air filters.
Over the years, Bob Brackett has been a member of numerous flying organizations. He was a member of the Quiet Birdmen (QBs), Experimental Aircraft Association, Kingman Airport Authority Board, and Wisconsin Aviation Trades Association (WATA), and formed the Kingman Aero Club. In 1998, Brackett was awarded the “Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award” by the FAA, and in 2005, he received the “Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award,” also from the FAA. His flying adventures included circumnavigating the United States in 1992, and flying the Arizona state flag from Kingman, Ariz. to Kitty Hawk, N.C. in 2003, as Arizona’s official delegate to the Centennial of Flight Celebration of the Wright Brothers. Brackett also participated in the 2005 Canada Fishing Fly-Out promoted by Midwest Flyer Magazine. At age 79, Brackett and his life-long friend and fellow aviator, retired Eastern Airlines Capt. Roy Peltz, 81, of Miami, Florida, flew Brackett’s Beechcraft Baron from Kingman, Arizona to Fort Francis, Ontario in one day, flying VFR, and made a perfect textbook landing, arriving in time for dinner. Brackett also built and flew a “Kit Fox” airplane in 1994.
Bob Brackett passed away in 2008. He and his wife of 52 years, Nancy, had four children: Sheryl Brackett, Scott Brackett, Roy Brackett, and Jill Fetters, and his family continues to operate Brackett Aircraft Company and Brackett Aero Filters, as they have since 1968.
Dr. Sherwood Williams was a high school math and mechanical engineering teacher by profession and had never ridden in an airplane until he was given an introductory flight lesson as a birthday gift when he turned 50. After that he started flying lessons, soloed, and was on his way to an exciting career in aviation.
Dr. Williams served as a consultant to teachers at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, and at Viterbo University in La Crosse for over 25 years. His graduate-level continuing education courses are aimed at improving aviation teaching techniques. He has developed curricula, taught courses, created a website, and wrote a variety of publications, all aimed at improving the delivery of aviation education in Wisconsin.
Dr. Williams also owned CAVU Flight Academy, for which he was chief instructor. He has earned all 10 phases of the FAA Pilot Proficiency Award Program. He also has a Gold Seal on his flight instructor certificate and over 9000 hours of flight time. Dr. Williams was a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) from 2003 to 2018. He has flown as a charter pilot out of Green Bay and been a consultant to the EAA Youth Aviation Program, where he trains teachers about aviation. Dr. Williams currently serves as the National Aerospace Education Manager for the Civil Air Patrol.
Donald G. Kiel was born in Whitelaw, Wisconsin in 1945, and signed enlistment papers for the U.S. Air Force at his high school graduation party in 1963. He was assigned to the 90th Minuteman Missile Squadron and promoted to Airman First Class, leading a team of missile maintenance mechanics to 200 Minuteman Missile sites in Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado.
During this time, Kiel joined the base flying club and took flying lessons, earning his private, commercial, multi-engine and instructor ratings which helped him land his first flying job with Overland Air Service in Sidney, Nebraska following the service.
After working his way through several crop dusting and airmail jobs, Kiel started flying for Air Wisconsin, then for North Central Airlines, retiring with Northwest Airlines in 2005 after flying 10 different airplanes, from the Convair 580 domestically, to the Airbus A330-300 internationally. Kiel has logged over 30,000 flight hours in more than 100 aircraft types and has owned numerous antique and classic aircraft.
Aside from his airline career, Kiel has served as vice president of EAA Chapter 383, chairman of Manitowoc Aviation Day, and on the Manitowoc Airport Advisory Committee. Most notably, Kiel was among a small group of individuals who championed a change in Wisconsin law to protect private airport owners from frivolous lawsuits (Wisconsin Statute 895.52).
