AirVenture Cup Co-founder And Aviation Educator Lived To Help Others, Some Into The Air

By Fareed Guyot (Special to ANN)

Kjell Erik "Da Swede" Anderson, suffered a massive heart attack Monday September 10, 2012 and passed away while at work in Madison, Wisconsin. He was 51. Erik taught Aviation and Band at East High School and Sherman Middle school, carrying on the proud tradition of educating area youth in joy of aviation.

Regardless of his focus, he always was trying to help young people excel, achieve, succeed, or just survive.  Erik (pictured in Facebook image) belonged to the Experimental Aircraft Association, serving as the President of EAA Chapter 18 in Milwaukee. Erik was from the "Milwaukee school", which means he was inherently creative in the mechanical sense. He loved to weld, work on small engines, or just work to make some hopeless pile of machinery run again.

His friend Bob Lang had an RV-6 project and as the years went by, Erik become more and more involved. I'm not sure how many aircraft projects Erik started in his life, but I know his pride and joy is the RV-6 he built with Bob. The aircraft flew for the first time earlier this year and made its Oshkosh appearance this past July. The other half of his self-titled "Swedish Air Force" is his Piper Comanche, which he acquired a few years ago.

Erik co-founded the EAA AirVenture Cup race with his close friend, Eric “Da Weasel” Whyte during the mid 1990s. It’s one of his lasting legacies as the air race is still held each year, celebrating innovation by homebuilders. Often there are 60-80 entrants which speaks to the popularity of racing one’s own creation and the well- run competition event that Swede and Weasel have shaped over the years.

Erik's other indelible passion was music. He played mainly accordion and trumpet, but he could play it all. Erik was all about his students whether they were into aviation or not. He was always involved in their lives, and he was the kind of teacher kids stayed in-touch with, long after they had moved on.

In 2001, Erik landed a dream job teaching aviation at Madison East High School. East's aviation program had been in existence for decades and was nationally known, sending many kids to college with a head-start on their aviation studies. I often spoke in front of the aviation classes, and would meet many of Erik's students. Typical kids, some were motivated - some were not, but Erik always found a way to get them to achieve. His impact was evident from the messages from current and former students on his Facebook page.

I last "spoke" to Erik about 12 hours before his death - through Facebook chat - as he was telling me of the emergency landing he had to make on Saturday in the RV-6. He was flying with fellow pilot, Eric Whyte, headed north from Madison when an oil line failed. Smoke started to fill the inside of the aircraft.
They declared an emergency and landed near Necedah, Wisconsin. They quickly got some parts from a local pilot, fixed the cracked line, cleaned up the airplane (the underside was coated with oil), and flew home. That's aviation for you, always someone nearby to lend a hand as Erik had done countless times before for other pilots and their aircraft. What makes me the most happy is that his last flight was with his best friend. Knowing those two, I was only a little surprised by the story and not at all surprised by the outcome.

Yes I can envision it now...the Swede and Weasel flying home from Necedah laughing all the way. For once, it is a story in which I believe every word.

FMI: http://willystreetblog.com/wp/2012/09/10/kjell-erik-anderson-1961-2012/