Aviation guru Kershner dies

[kallend 2,154]

I expect most US pilots have used at least one of Kershner's training manuals.

KERSHNER: AN EDUCATOR AND A GENTLEMAN
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/781-full.html#194192)
Many aviators got their first introduction into the mysteries of
flight via the manuals of William K. Kershner, pilot, flight
instructor and author. Kershner died Monday, at age 77, in Sewanee,
Tenn., after a prolonged battle with cancer, AOPA reported today
(http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2007/070109kershner.html).
"Bill will be remembered as an enthusiastic pilot, great educator and
friend," said Bruce Landsberg, AOPA Air Safety Foundation AOPA
director. "I called on him periodically to discuss airmanship or
procedural issues. From traffic patterns to aerodynamics of stalls to
IFR techniques, I could always count on Bill for good advice."
Kershner was also "admired and liked by everyone he ever met, and
that's a rare man," says Ralph Hood, a columnist for Airport Busines
(http://www.airportbusiness.com/blogs/2007/01/10/bill-kershner-flies-west/).
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/781-full.html#194192

A LONG CAREER IN AVIATION
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/781-full.html#194193)
William Kershner soloed at age 16, in 1945, flying an Aeronca Defender
from a grass strip in Clarksville, Tenn. He wrote his first flight
manual in 1959, and his last book, Logging Flight Time, in 2002. The
memoir chronicles his 60-plus years of flying both civilian and
military airplanes. AVweb Editor In Chief Chad Trauvetter remembers
him as a gifted instructor. "I was in a CFI refresher class at
Embry-Riddle where Kershner taught the session on spins," he says. "He
was not only a great teacher, but he did it in a way that made you
bust out laughing. Before showing a self-produced video showing him
doing a spin with 13 turns in a Cessna 152, Kershner said he told the
cameraman on the ground to 'keep filming no matter how big the
airplane gets in the viewfinder.' The entire class erupted in
laughter."
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/781-full.html#194193

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[freeflir29 0]

He was a truly great man. The entire world has lost an asset.

[willard 0]

Like all of the greats, as hard as he tried to pass on his knowledge there was just too much to write down. He will be missed by all who learned to fly.

[quade 4]

Sad to hear this.

Bill knew more about stalls and spins than just about anyone on the planet. His aerobatics manual is a must read for anyone even vaguely interested in the topic and that includes everyone from primary students to airline drivers. The things that man could do with a Cessna 150 Aerobat . . . good god.

The flight shelf of my library must have at least a dozen, heavily thumbed, books written by him; everything from the most basic instruction manuals for students to detailed aerodynamics. I can think of no other single person on the planet that has passed so much information into my head.

Who was the best pilot that ever lived? An old geezer on a grass strip in Sewanee, Tennessee, taking off in a checkerboard Cessna passing on a lifetime of knowledge to some 16-year-old kid.

That kid wasn't me, but I sure as hell wished it was.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[diverdriver 7]

Fly west Bill. Fly west.

[jonstark 8]

The empty chair out front of the FBO will be a lonely site for many.

jon