Training Legend, 'Spin Doctor' Was 77

A legend in pilot training has left us. Aviation great Bill Kershner passed away Monday at the age of 77, after a prolonged fight against cancer.

If you learned to fly in the past 50 years, chances are you studied from a book authored by Kershner, who flew his first solo in an Aeronca Defender in 1945.

He wrote and illustrated five highly regarded flight manuals, including his Student Pilot's Flight manual... which alone has sold over one million copies.

Kershner was also a firm believer in spin recovery training, an area private pilot training has shied away from in recent years. He logged more than 8,000 spins... all the more impressive when you consider he'd only log spins of at least three turns, and didn't record spins at all during his first 24 years of flying.

Right up until the end, Kershner taught ground school at his Ace Aerobatic School in Sewanee, TN. Flight instructor Catherine Cavagnaro, whom Kershner mentored into aerobatic instruction, will continue to operate his school... using a Cessna 152 Aerobat almost identical to the bird Kershner flew, which is now heading to the National Air and Space Museum.

"Bill will be remembered as an enthusiastic pilot, great educator and friend," said Bruce Landsberg, AOPA Air Safety Foundation executive director. "He served as a sounding board on many occasions to the foundation. I called on him periodically to discuss airmanship or procedural issues. From traffic patterns to aerodynamics of stalls to IFR techniques, I could always count on Bill for good advice."

It is with sadness we report William Kershner has Gone West... where the skies are clear, and pilots always have plenty of altitude.

FMI: www.kershnerflightmanuals.com/