South Platte Sentinel Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014 Page 14

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EventsAviation Hall of Fame inducts former resident Former Sterling resident Lt. Col. Leo J. “Lee” Scheberle was recently named to the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame. Scheberle was one of three Laureate honored. Joining him are Capt. James J. “Jim” McKinstrey and Gen. Robert F. Titus. Scheberle, the second oldest of 10 children, was born on Dec. 12, 1917 in St. Mary, Neb., and moved to Colorado about fi ve years later. At age 10, Leo was inspired at the potential of a future aviation career by the Charles Lindbergh Trans-Atlantic fl ight. Over the next 11 years, school-work, hard times and working on the family’s rural vegetable farm outside Sterling left little time to do more than read library books on the subject of fl ight, or an occasional visit to the airport. His fi rst fl ight, at age 21, was 20 minutes long at Crosson Field on a balmy Sept. 25, 1938 in Sterling, with L.E. “Dick” Smith, CFI# 1995. He soloed there on Jan. 29, 1939 in a Piper J3 Cub and received a Solo Pilot Certifi cate on April 26, 1939 through the Civil Aeronautics Administration by O.C. LeBoutillier, Regional Aero Inspector. LeBoutillier was a World War I Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighter Pilot. Various fi ght ratings then followed - Private Pilot Certifi cate, Commercial Pilot Certifi cate and Flight Instructor. Leo was also a Civilian Pilot Training Program instructor in Sterling. Scheberle’s very fi rst night fl ight was from Crosson Field on June 30, 1942 in a Piper J5A, NC33411, which was equipped with a wind generator mounted on the left wing strut that supplied current to the wing and tail position lights. No instrument panel lights were avialable, but a fl ashlight allowed the checking of oil pressure, temperature and altitude No fl ight altitude instruments were on the panel and about 20 kerosene lanterns were used to outline the runway and taxi way. A “Call to Duty” came in July, 1942, from the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). With over 1,000 fl ight hours, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. Leo was one of 300 civilian pilots enrolled in various Flight Instructor

Courses at Mather Field, Sacramento, Calif. Leo became one of 15 instruc-tors chosen for further training, who then became the fi rst Civilian Multi-Engine Flight Instructors in Oct. 1942. These pilots were divided for AAF base assignments in Douglass, N.M. and La Junta. As a fl ight instructor through 1943 at La Junta AFF, he trained students primarily in North Amer-ican B-25’s. In January 1944, he was assigned to AAF bases at Amarillo, Lowry and Clovis as a Pilot-Engineer trainee on the B-29 Strato-bomber, Boeing B-17 and Consolidated B-24. This specialized training course consisted of transition, high altitude cross-country, instruments, simu-lated bombing from above 25,000 and long-range cruise control,

with some fl ights extending over 10-hours in duration. After WWII, Leo worked once again with L.E. “Dick” Smith as an Advanced Flight Instructor in the post-war GI Bill Pueblo fl ight-training program for veterans. In 1948 he worked for the John Park Machinery Company, fl ying a Gull-Wing Stinson SR-8E. From 1949-1956, Leo was part-time instructor and Private and Commercial Flight Examiner for the Civilian Aviation Administration at Pueblo Municipal Airport. Leo’s corporate aviation career began in 1956 with the Rock Wool Insulation Company, piloting a Beechcraft Twin Bonanza throughout continental USA, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. Leo and family moved to Denver in 1963 where he was executive pilot for Navajo Freight Lines. In

1965, Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCo) had purchased a Beechcraft King Air and was seeking a second Captain pilot. During a 17 year stint as a corporate pilot with PSCo, he piloted a Beech Super-18, King Air and a Lear Jet 24B with ATP Rating. By retirement in January 1983 he had received several corporate national “Safe Flying

Awards” with over 2,000,000 fl ight miles. From 1946 to 1967, Leo was a United States Air Force Reservist, working in various operations positions at Peterson Field, Ent Air Force Base, and as Duty-Controller with the North American Defense Command at NORAD, Colorado Springs. Leo retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He is a charter member (No. 614) in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), a founding member of the Civil Air Patrol, including memberships in Silver Wings, Colorado Aviation Historical Society and the Commemorative Air Force. He contributes generously to Boys Town, Wounded Warriors, Priests for Life, Red Cloud Indin chool and the St. Joseph’s Indian School. Leo is one of six pilots still living, out of the fi rst 1,000 charter members of AOPA and still remains current with changes and developments in the aviation and aerospace industry. He says he is most proud of not having any injured passengers or accidents involving aircrafts during the 44 years of civilian, active military, fl ight instruction, aircraft testing and corporate aviation from 1939-1983, piloting over 50 types of aircraft with 17,500+ fl ight hours. McKinstrey, a training pilot, that took him to many parts of the world, oversaw the US Military Airlift Command when Iraq invaded Kuwait. Titus, a retired USAF, had a lengthy career as the Inspector General of NORAD.

Former Sterling resident Lt. Col. Leo J. “Lee” Scheberle was recently named to the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame during the organization's 44th annual banquet held at the Lakewood Country Club. Joining him were Capt. James J. “Jim” McKinstrey and Gen. Robert F. Titus. (Courtesy Photo.)