Meet Al Gross … Our New Chairman Build & Fly Program

When he was only 3 or 4 years old, Al was fascinated with the NACA (NASA) flyovers from the Cleveland Hopkins Airport as the planes flew over his home. Early on, he remembers seeing the early B35 flying wing and B36 bombers. As he was growing up, his dad worked at Cleveland Model & Supply, producing model airplanes for military identification purposes. During WWII, the company played a pivotal role in the development of true scale models. In his spare time, his dad carved model propellers and sold them to hobbyists. At age eight, Al built his first model plane, a PA 12, learning the principal of nose heavy (difficult to fly) and tail heavy (you only fly once).

At age 24, he had his first flight in a Cessna, and in 1972, he received his private pilot’s license in Cleveland. When he did his first solo cross country flight, his VOR seemed inoperative and, as he climbed to 6000 feet, he could still see the ground but was flying in marginal VFR conditions. Luckily he looked down and saw the iron compass (railroad tracks) and a lake he recognized, so he followed the road back to the airport. After landing, he realized he had the wrong frequency. When he had read his paper map, the frequency was written in a crease, which caused him to read a wrong number.

Al’s first plane in which he received his instruction was a tail dragger Citabria. He then went on to obtain his license in a Cessna 150. He has built two ultralights, one from scratch and one he assembled. Along the way he has gained experience with experimental and production aircraft through family and friends.

He attended Cleveland State University, ma-joring in business and graduating with a BBA, which took him to GE and Honeywell, first in Minneapolis for two years, then to Sacramento for 6 -7 years. From there he went to Seattle where he worked as a manager.

When he retired in 2003, he and his wife, Kitty, had acreage and a small house on Freshwater Bay west of Port Angeles where Al would spend week-ends fishing with friends and enjoying the property. In 2004, after a week-end on their property, Kitty said she didn’t need to return to Seattle, so they decided to move to Port Angeles permanently. (continued on next page)

One of the activities Al enjoyed was taking Zoey, his chocolate lab therapy dog, to the local hospital to visit patients, to nursing homes and to schools and libraries to read to the children. He also enjoys hiking, kayaking and anything that takes him outdoors. For 24 years he was an aircraft judge at the Arlington Fly-In. He has been a member of EAA (#52697) since 1971 when joined the Cleveland EAA 325 Chapter. He was a member of a Minneapolis chapter and joined EAA 430 in February 2020. He attended Oshkosh in 1974.

Al is a member of AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) and Safety Officer of Olympic RC Modelers in Port Angeles. One of the many RC models he is currently working on is an RC Horton IX, a German prototype fighter/bomber flying wing, initially designed by Reimar and Walter Horten late in World War II. It was the first World War II combat flying wing and was to be powered by jet engines. His model RC Horton IX will also have electric ducted fan jet engines. He enjoys mentoring the building and flying of model planes and has years of experience with radio control flying. He flies model planes almost every day, explaining it’s an addiction or “way of life.” He brings his enthusiasm and experience to this new program for our chapter.

Besides airplanes, two of his favorite things are food & being outdoors. On his bucket list is food, flying and completing his Wing Horen IX. He and Kitty have three children and two granddaughters. He lives by his motto “Every day needs to be a good day “ and “Keep moving ahead.”