Joe Gauthier,
member of the EAA Homebuilt Aircraft Council and a longtime
homebuilder, receives the Spirit of Flight Award tonight at the
Homebuilders Dinner at the Nature Center. The award is sponsored
by the Society of Experi-mental Test Pilots and is presented to
the EAA member who best exemplifies the spirit of research,
development, or flight-testing.
Gauthier more
than fits the bill. An active EAA technical counselor since
1977, he is certified as an FAA aviation safety counselor, an
EAA flight advisor, and a NAFI master instructor. As southern
New England’s leading flight advisor, Gauthier has made the
maiden flights of more than 30 homebuilt aircraft. He speaks
regularly at chapter meetings throughout the area, as well as at
forums during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, including 2002 when he
spoke about record-keeping for amateur-built aircraft and first
flights.
Gauthier and
his wife, Carol, live in Cromwell, Connecticut. "My wife has
been extraordinarily supportive, and I owe much of what I do to
that support," Gauthier, a father of two grown daughters said.
"Our daughters always said, ‘Don’t ask Dad what time it is, he
will tell you how the watch works.’ Machines always intrigued
me, and the airplane is the ultimate machine."
After
discovering the world of homebuilt aircraft in 1968, Gauthier
sold his street rod to pay for flying lessons and has been
influencing aviation enthusiasts ever since. "I simply do the
best job possible preparing for every flight, establish
parameters for that flight, and stay within the limits
prescribed during the flight," Gauthier said. "I have enjoyed
the success achieved by taking one step at a time and always
looking ahead to the next sequence for planning purposes."
Gauthier, a
former member of the U.S. Air Force, spent 33 years with
Southern New England Telephone and is now providing tailwheel
and instrument flight instruction and leading two group aircraft
construction projects.
Gauthier has
received an impressive array of awards such as the EAA Chapter
166 Outstanding Contribution to Sport Aviation in 1984; EAA
Major Achievement Award in 1987; EAA President’s Award in 1991;
Chapter 166’s Aircraft Completion Award in 1973, 1974, 1980, and
1995; Aviation Safety Counselor of the Year (New England region)
in 1999; Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year (New England
region) in 2002; EAA Tony Bingelis Award in 2003; and Aero Club
of New England Connecticut State Award in 2005.
Appointed to
the EAA Homebuilt Aircraft Council in 2002, Gauthier has
constructed two BD-4 homebuilts, a Davis DA-2A, a Lancair 235,
and a Thorp T-18. He restored a 1946 Taylorcraft and a 1948
Cessna 140, and assisted in numerous other homebuilt projects
both in the mechanical and flight instruction areas.
