Tom Poberezny, the long-time president of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) who later became chairman emeritus, died early Monday as the association’s famed AirVenture kicked off in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He was 75.
“It is not lost on us that Tom’s passing occurred on the opening day of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the event he led into world prominence as its chairman beginning in the 1970s,” said Jack Pelton, EAA's chairman and CEO. “Tom’s legacy is tremendous in the world of aviation with his personal achievements as well as the growth of EAA…He will be greatly missed but more importantly, he will be remembered for all that he did for EAA and aviation. Our deep condolences and prayers go to Tom’s wife, Sharon, and his daughter, Lesley, and the rest of the Poberezny family.”
Born Oct. 3, 1946, Poberezny was a little more than six years old when his father, Paul Poberezny, founded EAA in 1953 with a small group of garage-based homebuilders in the greater Milwaukee area.
While Paul Poberezny led the organization as president from its founding until his retirement in 1989, Tom became an accomplished aviator, according to EAA. He served on the U.S. National Unlimited Aerobatic Team that won the World Championship in 1972 and the following year he won the U.S. National Unlimited Aerobatic Championship.
Tom Poberezny continued flying for 25 years as part of the Eagles Aerobatic Team—once known as the Red Devils and which EAA said was “the most successful civilian precision flying team in history.
At the same time, Poberezny remained involved with EAA, including leading the construction of the EAA Aviation Center headquarters and museum complex at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and chairing the annual fly-in that had grown into one of the world’s largest airshows.
He stepped in as EAA’s second president following the retirement of his father and held that position until 2010. Poberezny had added the role of chairman in February 2009 and then became chairman emeritus in 2011.
While at the helm of EAA, he led the creation of the Young Eagles program that mentors and provides flights to kids between the ages of eight and 17. In a little more than 10 years after the program’s founding in 1992, EAA realized its goal of giving one million kids an airplane flight by the centennial of powered flight on Dec. 17, 2003. That goal was achieved in October of that year and the program now counts more than two million Young Eagles flights, EAA said.
“He will be greatly remembered for all he did for aviation and for EAA,” said Dick Knapinski, the association’s director of communications.
While memorial service plans are pending, EAA is planning different commemorations of Poberezny on the airshow grounds this week during AirVenture 2022 to feature his contributions, including a prominent placement for Red 3, the modified Volkswagen Bug that he was frequently spotted driving during the airshow over the years.
On opening day of this year’s AirVenture, the man who made it what it is today departed this life. Tom Poberezny was 75.
His tenure at the helm of the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) AirVenture began in 1977 and he ran EAA from 1989 to 2011.
An industrial engineer by training, a world-class aerobatic pilot by avocation, and a leader by nature, he transformed EAA’s annual gathering from a small county fair with garage-fashioned wings into a glossy international happening staffed by 5,000 volunteers, attended by up to 650,000 visitors, and home to thousands of aircraft over the course of a week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Under Poberezny, the show simply known as “Oshkosh” became a polyglot festival of the strange and sublime: workshops, seminars, lectures, rock concerts, a tent city of junk peddlers called the “fly market,” slick multimillion-dollar pavilions sponsored by the aircraft manufacturers, a dazzling array of cuisine that Gordon Ramsay would never eat, and spectacular day and night airshows. More than 40,000 attendees camp on the grounds. It is all there–everything from the most modern business jets to antique warbirds to basement-built, single-seat, one-of-a-kind specials.
“It is not lost on us that Tom’s passing occurred on the opening day of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, the event he led into world prominence as its chairman beginning in the 1970s,” said Jack Pelton, EAA's chairman and CEO. “Tom’s legacy is tremendous in the world of aviation with his personal achievements as well as the growth of EAA…He will be greatly missed but more importantly, he will be remembered for all that he did for EAA and aviation.”
Born Oct. 3, 1946, Poberezny was a little more than six years old when his parents, Paul and Audrey, founded EAA in 1953 with a small group of garage-based homebuilders in the greater Milwaukee area.
While Paul Poberezny led the organization as president from its founding until his retirement in 1989, Tom obtained a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Northwestern University in 1970 and went on to become an accomplished aviator. He served on the U.S. National Unlimited Aerobatic Team that won the World Championship in 1972 and the following year he won the U.S. National Unlimited Aerobatic Championship.
Tom Poberezny continued flying for 25 years as part of the Eagles Aerobatic Team—once known as the Red Devils and which EAA said was “the most successful civilian precision flying team in history”—flying with Gene Soucy and Charlie Hillard.
Helping to foster this growth along the way, Poberezny brought strong ideas that left a permanent mark on the organization. He once recalled that after his father had selected Oshkosh as the organization’s new headquarters and museum, Paul Poberezny proposed constructing a low-cost metal pole building to house it. His son agitated for something better. “We had an argument,” Tom had recounted, with his father finally challenging him to “go do it.” And he did, including organizing a successful capital campaign to finance it. That led to the construction of the EAA Aviation Center headquarters and museum complex at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.
In 1992, Poberezny co-founded the EAA’s “Young Eagles” program, nurturing the next generation of pilots, aeronautical engineers, and tinkerers. In a little more than 10 years after the program’s founding in 1992, EAA realized its goal of giving one million kids an airplane flight by the centennial of powered flight on Dec. 17, 2003.
Working with EAA, Poberezny also led the effort to develop and codify the light sport aircraft category into the FAA regulations to make flying more affordable.
Over the years, EAA grew from a group of enthusiasts to much more than that. Today only 16 percent of EAAers build their own airplanes—the remainder buy off the shelf, collect antiques, restore warbirds, fly amateur aerobatics or pursue some other sub-specialty through the hundreds of local chapters scattered across the U.S, and around the world. Today’s EAA literally has something for every stripe of aviation enthusiast.
To be sure, Poberezny’s tenure at EAA had its share of turbulence, especially toward the end when he found himself at odds with a board of directors he categorized as “having strong opinions.”
During his 2011 resignation speech, Poberezny stood in front of the main air show admission gate and talked about his experiences with the EAA and AirVenture. “The EAA is not an organization, it’s not a business, it’s a way of life each one of us lives in different ways. This is a field organization, it’s where the action is.
“The week before [AirVenture] is more fun for me than the week of. I get to watch everybody, watch it evolve, watch it build, and watch the friendships. People who haven’t seen each other for 51 weeks of the year come back and act like they’ve never been gone. That’s the fun part, the joy. Don’t forget what a special place this is.”
Nor the man who made it so.