Chesapeake, Virginia

Inducted in 1996, Curtis E. Eads, Sr., learned to fly in a J-3 Cub while working at the Norfolk Navy Shipyard during WWII.  He was active pilot and flight instructor for close to half a century and was one of the most widely known aviation figures in the Hampton Roads area.  In 1959, he and his pilot wife, Ruby, started the "Curtis Eads Flight School" at the Hampton Roads Airport, Chesapeake, VA.  He accumulated over 15,800 hours of flight time teaching others to fly.  He had the enviable reputation of being a meticulous teacher and preacher for aviation safety, while inspiring a love of aviation among his students.  He was awarded the prestigious Flight Instructor of the Year in 1987 by the Richmond FAA-AEA FSDO for his outstanding service to the aviation community of eastern Virginia.  Eads also earned his Airframe and Power Plant Mechanic license, and was a FAA Written Test Examiner and FAA Accident Prevention Counselor.