Iola, WI Central County Flyers Help Centenarian Celebrate In Style

By Larry Stencel

On a spectacular and colorful fall day in central Wisconsin, the Central County Airport Flyers helped one of their local members celebrate his 100th birthday. More than 50 airplanes and close to two hundred people came from near and far to help pilot Paul Johns celebrate his milestone birthday during their infamous Friday Fly In lunch at Iola (68C).

At age 15, Paul Johns first soloed a glider in 1929. He soloed a Curtis Jr. two years later and went on to achieve commercial and ATP ratings at a suburban Chicago airport that would later become Glenview Naval Air Station.  Joining the Naval Reserve, he went on to achieve maintenance and radio repair ratings and became a Link instrument flying trainer for both the Navy and United Airlines.
 
In 1939, PanAm hired him to set up an instrument training program for pilots flying to Europe via South America. With that program up and running, he achieved his dream of becoming a line pilot flying DC-3's in Central and South America. In 1944, he transferred to PanAm's Pacific fleet to fly  the PB2Y3 and Boeing 314 flying boats. As a senior pilot and celestial navigator, Paul completed 220 crossings of the Pacific.
 
After the war, Paul settled in Racine, WI as a pilot for J I Case Co. and for the Walker (exhaust products) Co. again flying DC-3's. As his mandatory retirement at age 60 approached, Paul stayed on with the Walker Co as a designer and never lost his love of flying. At age 75, he built his own airplane, a Kitfox, and flew it for seven years. In 1995, after 66 years of aviating, he grounded himself but continued his love of all things aviation as a member of the Central County Flyers in Iola. Most Fridays, he can be found among the lunch crowd crowd at the Iola airport. His mementos are proudly displayed on one wall of the Flyer's hangar. He IS the group's local 'hero.'
 
In 2009, Paul Johns was inducted into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame. He is also one of EAA's "Timeless Voices of Aviation."

Standing in the food line and speaking with another pilot who flew DC-3's with Paul at the Case and Walker Co's, he mentioned that one never wanted to be caught by Paul in a "compromising" position because Paul always carried a Minox camera. He quipped that Paul once took a photo of him sleeping in the back of a DC-3 ... with his mouth open and snoring.
 
At this Friday's Fly In lunch, Paul Johns was the honoree and the reason most folks came.  A huge cake, a blown up photo of a much younger Paul in front of a Boeing Clipper and a beautiful lithograph of a Boeing 314 were among the gifts. A Proclamation by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and a card from NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman -- who met him at Iola in 2012 -- were among the gifts. At the completion of the lunch, a YAK52 pilot demonstrated a NASCAR like burnout on the ground directly in front of the hangar with smoke billowing and later wow'ed the crowd with some acrobatics when departing. At the end, Paul departed the hangar riding in a Packard 12 vintage auto owned by a local car collector.
 
To see this man in person, one would be hard pressed to know he is 100 years of age. Although he walks with the aid of a cane and doesn't hear quite so well anymore, he still drives, lives by himself and displays a very prominent positive attitude. Perhaps we all should take note of that trait.
 
Happy 100th Birthday from Aero-News Network, Paul ... and MANY more.

(Images provided by the author)

FMI: www.flyingclippers.com/M130.html