Gone West: Owen Gassaway Jr. | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.23.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.25.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.26.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.27.25

Mon, Jan 07, 2008

Gone West: Owen Gassaway Jr.

Legend Of Florida Aviation Was 83

Aero-News has learned of the passing of a true legend. Owen H. Gassaway Jr. didn't make his name in the aviation community by flying planes, but by managing and servicing them... and, making a well-known airport what it is today.

Gassaway, who passed away December 27 at the age of 83, started his career in aerospace out of high school, working as an aircraft mechanic at Morrison Field (known today as Palm Beach International Airport) and for the Civil Air Patrol. He enlisted in the Army during World War II, as a tank driver and mechanic.

Following his service in General George Patton's 3rd Army, he returned to Florida and founded sales, maintenance and charter outfit Florida Airmotive Inc. at nearby Lantana Airport. The company sported a 23-plane DC-3 charter fleet, and for a number of years was also the largest Beechcraft distributor in the nation, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

At the time, Lantana was little-more than a spot on the chart... but under Gassaway's leadership, the airport -- officially known as Palm Beach County Park Airport, but far more commonly called by its original name -- rose to become one of the premier general aviation airports on the East Coast. To reflect his service to the field, the Lantana terminal bears his name -- The Owen H. Gassaway Aviation Center.

Gassaway also served as director of the local chapter of the Florida Aero Club, and started the Scout Aviation Explorers Post at Lantana (LNA.) In 1996, he was awarded the Charles Taylor Award by the FAA, for his 50 years of continuous service in aircraft maintenance. At the time, he jokingly attributed his hard work in aviation to an aversion to housework.

"I tell my wife there's some hard work to do around the house and I don't want to do that," he said. In 2002, he earned the Phillips 66 Aviation Leadership Award, for his unwavering support of EAA's Young Eagles program.

Gassaway was married for over 60 years to his wife, Alice, whom he met during his Army service at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

FMI: www.lantanaairport.com/HISTORY.HTML

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Rutan Long-EZ

He Attempted To Restart The Engine Three Times. On The Third Restart Attempt, He Noticed That Flames Were Coming Out From The Right Wing Near The Fuel Cap Analysis: The pilot repor>[...]

ANN FAQ: Turn On Post Notifications

Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: ICAS Perspectives - Advice for New Air Show Performers

From 2009 (YouTube Edition): Leading Air Show Performers Give Their Best Advice for Newcomers On December 6th through December 9th, the Paris Las Vegas Hotel hosted over 1,500 air >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (06.28.25)

Aero Linx: NASA ASRS ASRS captures confidential reports, analyzes the resulting aviation safety data, and disseminates vital information to the aviation community. The ASRS is an i>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (06.28.25)

“For our inaugural Pylon Racing Seminar in Roswell, we were thrilled to certify 60 pilots across our six closed-course pylon race classes. Not only did this year’s PRS >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC