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I wanted to take the time to post this here as I know there are some Wixers that know Clair. I am sorry to say Clair passed away last night. His family was near and wasn't in pain. For those who didn't know Clair;
Clair grew up on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. Since a very young age, he was interested in airplanes. As were his father and two brothers. They would go to Bettis Field on Sundays to watch airplanes as kids. being a teenager around the time of the end of WWII he was there to see many surplus warbirds flying in and out. So Warbirds became a big interest. He joined the Navy and was in charge of a radio shop handling radios and radar in a squadron that had convairs, and TBM Avengers. When he got out of the navy, he went to PIA to become an A&P. He was hired at a few smaller aviation companies, until getting hired at Mohawk Airlines. There he worked as a mechanic and eventually a lead. He worked there for 35 years seeing it go from Mohawk to Lake Central, to Allegheny Airlines, to eventually US Airways. He eventually was in charge of installing TCAS in all of the US Airways fleet. Through out his career he was always an airplane nut. His spare time was spent doing other aviation stuff, and going to airshows, and museums. No road trip too great, or too far. In the early 1980's a museum was being started by a group of aviation fans. He was one of the ones that started the museum. It would be at the Beaver County Airport, and came to be know as Air Heritage. The first aircraft the acquired was an L-21B Super Cub. Then in the late 1980's the B-17 "909" had it's landing mishap at the airport. It went off the runway and down over a cliff. It was damaged severely. Some very well known in the warbird world came to see it, and said, "part it out, it will never fly again." Clair and the gang said they could fix it. Over the next 5 years the B-17 was rebuilt. because of Clair's, and a few others's connections at US Air, alot of the work was done in their facility and by some of their A&P's. After 909 flew again we recieved aircraft from David Tallichet. and a hangar big enough to hold several aircraft including a B-17. We worked there for years. When I started at Air heritage it was right at the end of 909. I was 12. Alot of people thought a 12 year old couldn't be really wanting to do this. Clair and a few others thought differently. Thank god they did. they gave me a chance to help doing everything from cleaning the aircraft to sand blasting parts, and everything else. In later years Clair continued to be active in aviation, and was even preparing to start to EAA timeless Voices interviews. Clair was a very proud member of the EAA. he started our anual trip to the Oshkosh Airshow in 1996. A trip which he never missed. Last year during the event he took several moments just standing there looking around. When I would catch up with him, and ask him what he was doing, he reply "Just taking it all in." My friends and I are dedicated to keeping his trips going. He'd be pissed if we stopped. When the FAA turned down the paper work for his master Mechanic Award because they didn't want to count his time working on radios for Convairs and Avengers as time toward being a mechanic in aviation, he was bummed out. I contacted the EAA and asked if they had an kind of award I could nominate hiim for to cheer him up. I wrote an e-mail of just what Clair had done for me as a kid trying to enter the aviation world. Tom Poberezny e-mailed me back directly, and said they would see what they could do. In the mail, Clair recieved an Honorary Lifetime membership to the EAA. He was proud of that to the end. I was at his house after Thanksgiving, and he was talking about that as well. Clair was also a volunteer with me at the National Museum of the USAF. Some of the paid employees there said two guys from Pittsburgh would only last a month or two driving that far one weekend a month. We volunteered there for 5 years together. If I was going somewhere whether it was in a plane or a car, Clair was always willing to go. he may think that the destination was silly, like the time I drug him to the Dukes of Hazzard museum, but he'd go anyway. And the trip was always a blast. Through out the years his wife, daughters, son, and grandsons became more than just friends. They became family. Our families would end up spending holidays and special events together. When I got married, he was one of my groomsmen. I am honored to have had him as one of my best friends.
Chris
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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager
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