Getting to Know John Meyers

Editor’s Note: John wrote Airplanes R Us in the monthly EAA newsletter from December 2018—May 2020. We now get to read the story about his general and professional aviation life. I grew up in Ohio, near the Cleveland-Hopkins Airport. I was 7 or 8 years old and was impressed by what I was constantly seeing overhead, a sky full of airplanes. Most thrilling was a low pass by a B-36 over our schoolyard when we were outside for recess. After visiting an aunt and uncle in Toledo, Ohio in 1958 when I was 13, I flew home solo from Toledo, Ohio to CLE on a United Airlines Convair 240. About the same time, I got a backseat ride in a Cessna 170, just for fun when I belonged to a neighborhood model airplane club. We also lived in Columbus/Berea/Elyria/Newark OH. In August 1961, at age 16, I soloed at Newark, Ohio in a J-3 Cub. My parents were neutral to slightly positive about my flying enthusiasm. Mom was near apoplectic the evening I came home and announced that I had soloed a Piper Cub … but she came around by bedtime. Two years later, in June 1963,at age 18, I got my PPL in a Piper Tri-Pacer. I was a regular High School grad, thence 3 years of drift thru Arts & Sciences at Ohio State U, trying to find a major. At the end of 1964, I completed my commercial & CFI ratings and was thoroughly career-oriented. I instructed like crazy in ‘65 and part of ‘66, working my way through college for a major flight school in Columbus, OH. I applied to Ohio Air National Guard and tested for the Army CWO flight program. This was during the ramp up of Viet Nam. Lucky for me, there was an airline-hiring frenzy which led me to quit Ohio State University and accept United Airline’s employment offer, as of June 1966, changing my direction, thus preempting by last year of college.

In the summer of 1968, I bought a PA-18-150 Super Cub which I spotted in Trade-a-Plane. I was a young United Airlines pilot at the time, based in Seattle. I flew the Cub from Ann Arbor MI to SEA … my first really long X/C flight in a small airplane.

Mom knit me a sweater to match my 1972 Decathlon.

UAL employment led me to live in Chicago area, Seattle (Kent, Crest Airport), Wadsworth Ohio near Cleveland, & later, Denver. I built both my house and hangar at Crest Airport and in Wadsworth. An interesting & privileged assignment with UAL was as “project pilot” for the introduction of the “new” B-777 aircraft. This kept me busy during 1994 and beyond. The airplane was certified and began line trips at United in June 1995. I retired in 2003 from UAL as having served as pilot, check airman, and sim instructor. I worked as a contract sim instructor/ check airman for Korean Airlines from 2003-2009. That employment venue led us to move from Denver to Sequim (joke… so I could be close to work).

My portfolio is appropriate for a retired airline pilot. Ratings are: ASMEL-IFR typed in B727, B757/767, B747, B777 … also CFI-I and ASES. On the lighter side, I have owned a Super Cub, several Citabrias, Decathlon, C180, Monocoupe, Piper Pacer, Harmon Rocket, and RV-6. I now own and fly a C-150 tailwheel conversion. I am an EAA member since 1972 but was not affiliated with any chapter until Sequim EAA 430 from around 2009. With Chapter 430, I served as Y/E pilot and Y/E Coordinator for a couple years. I can claim some unique EAA “seniority” because of attending the precursor to OSHKOSH. That was ROCKFORD 1964 which I wrote about for the Chapter 430 newsletter. Later I attended OSH about 5 times, most recent being 2011. I got to fly in and out with Barry Halsted. He won a repeat LINDY for Saffire. I got to witness some pretty exciting events associated with his recognition.

John M with Barry Halsted & Saffire Oshkosh 2011 My DC-6 for the day at Detroit-prepping for departure, ship 6975 May 28, 1968 I met my wife, Alliree, in 1972 when she was a United passenger. Sitting in the cockpit, the captain pointed her out to me as she walked up the stairs into the plane wearing a rabbit coat and hot pants. At our next stop, I asked her to join me in getting a cup of coffee. A year later we were married. When we lived in Denver, we bought some property so she could have horses. At the same time she was a piano teacher.

Currently I manage our 5 acres of grass and fruit trees … and a big house. When asked about my bucket list, my answer is, “I’m just hoping to keep control of the bucket, not kicking it !”

For amusement, we pilots liked to demonstrate the “rubber glove autopilot” as pictured here.

Co-pilot on DC-6 based in Detroit May 29, 1968 In 1964, I painted this mural on an office wall at the Sundin Aviation Company at Newark Ohio Airport.