FAA Examiner With More Than 10,000 Check Rides To His Credit

One thing is for certain. Clyde Shelton got a lot of pilots started in their aviation careers.

Shelton has Gone West after what was described as a brief illness. He died June 10 at the age of 86.

Shelton was a member of the Tennessee and Alabama Aviation Halls of Fame. He administered a record 10,379 checkrides over his career as an FAA designated pilot examiner.

According to his obituary posted on AL.com, Shelton joined the USAF in 1951, where he trained as a crew chief on the T-33 and F-86 aircraft. But he did not learn to fly until after he left the Air Force.

He began as a flight instructor in 1963 and flew actively until November 30, 2016.

He became an FAA designated flight examiner in 1987.

His personal logbook shows 38,971 actual flight hours with ratings as an Airline Transport Pilot, Single and Multi engine Instrument Instructor, and Cessna Citation jet.

He was also a charter member NASA. At the Marshall Space Flight Center, he worked with Dr. Wernher Von Braun on launch vehicles ranging from Redstone rockets to the Saturn V.

Clyde was elected into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame in 2016.

A special funeral "send off" was held Thursday, June 15 at the Madison County Executive Airport in Meridianville, AL.

(Image from Facebook)

FMI: AL.com Obituary