West Point, Virginia

Inducted in 2007, Homer Humphreys first soloed in 1945.  While principal of West Point High School he introduced an aviation education program that ran into the early 50s.  The 1953 class made a film documenting the assembly of a J-3 Cub as an extra curricular project.  This plane was eventually flown and used for instruction and orientation flights.  While the Supervising Principal, he would take every single member of the 6th grade class for a flight in his PA-18 each year.  He also offered orientation flights at West Point High and taught Aerospace Education to students at UVA.  In 1950 he joined the AOPA.  During the summer of 1952 he enrolled in Aerospace Education at the University of Colorado.  In the summers of 1954-55 he acted as Director of Aerospace Education in Montana.  He taught at Montana State University and Eastern Montana College of Education.  He flew back and forth between the two schools to cover both curriculums.  Special attention was given to aviation source material available for teaching and presentation of material to elementary and secondary pupils.  During the 1950s Homer was instrumental in the formation and continuing management of the West Point Flying Club.  For 15 years, from 1956-71 he joined the faculty at UVA each summer as Director of Aerospace Education.  The course for teachers entitled “Education 107-V:  Aerospace Education” was a laboratory study designed to develop an understanding of the overall impact of air and space travel.  For more than a decade hundreds participated in this summer workshop program.  For many years he flew Santa Claus to the West Point Airport.  From 1964-1967 he was treasurer of the VA Education Association’s Aviation Education Association.  In 1968 he was awarded the CAP Meritorious Service Award and in December 1981 he was awarded the Certificate of Service, Virginia Wing Civil Air Patrol for 30 years of service.