Getting to Know Keith Kretschmer

Keith has been a pilot since 1952 when he was a senior in high school. He grew up in Omaha Nebraska and graduated from Wentworth Military Academy and the University of Nebraska, where he flew a Piper Super-cruiser. In his first cross country, he was following a river until he lost sight of the river and ended up landing in a pasture, asking someone where he was. On another occasion, he took off during an Iowa winter, flying a Mooney, but neglected to sump the bottom tank before taking off. When the engine quit, he ended up landing in a field of snow and couldn’t get the plane out until the snow melted. The cause of the engine quitting was water from the lower fuel tank.

He was in ROTC in high school and college and also attended jump school. In 1957 through 1958, he was an Army Airborne Ranger in Korea. After active duty, he joined the reserves and 25 years later was a Major. The best thing that happened while in Korea was the day he met his future wife, Adine, a recreational director in the Red Cross. They met at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the first flush toilet in the area. They have been married 62 years.

Keith has a long history owning and flying a variety of airplanes, starting with his ‘46 hand-propped Piper Cub. In 1967, when the RMS Queen Mary sailed her final voyage to Long Beach, California, Keith and Adine were there in their Piper Cub to greet it, along with hundreds of other planes flying overhead watching the historic ship arrive. Without an electrical system in the plane (radios), Keith had an interesting time avoiding all the air traffic. His next planes were a C182 retractable and a C206 (“Flying Dune Buggy”). He traded his 182 for a P210 which he converted to a Riley Rocket and displayed for 3 years at Oshkosh.

While the plane was being converted, he flew a VariEze, which his son also enjoyed flying.

He next converted his Riley Rocket to a Rolls Royce Silver Eagle, which he also displayed for 3 years at Oshkosh. While this plane was being converted, he flew an Osprey. (picture on following page)

The conversion of the Rocket to the Rolls-Royce Turbine was a major overhaul since both the engine and the interior of the plane had to match the Rolls Royce standard of quality. This plane was also displayed three years at Oshkosh in the Rolls Royce booth.

Osprey

Silver Eagle Conversion of a P210 with a Rolls Royce turbine engine Keith attended the UCLA Graduate School of Management. He has had a 30-year international career in financial services. He was a General Partner of Bear Stearns in Los Angeles and the Senior Managing Director in Boston. He served as the managing director of Oppenheimer & Co from 1993-94 and Oppenheimer Capital with offices in New York and Sydney Australia between 1994–2001. Prior to his investment career, he was CEO of a computer company and helped start a life insurance company. One of his business observations is “Be decisive, right or wrong. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who could not make a decision.”

He served on the White House Advance Staff during the Ford and Nixon administrations as a volunteer. He would be notified when the president had a trip either in the states or in another part of the world. It was his job to go to that place and plan the itinerary for the visit. He had a staff which included the Secret Service. When the president arrived, Keith would accompany him for the entire trip, advising him of the schedule.

He has served as an officer and director with a number of charities. He served as senior partner of a California farming partnership. He was on the Presidents Council of ACCION International whose affiliates lent money to micro entrepreneurs throughout the Americas as a solution to poverty and underemployment.

He has flown over 100 Young Eagles during the time he has been a member of EAA 430. He has the following ratings: Single engine & glider; instrument single & multi-engine; commercial; seaplane. If there were a rating for landing a plane in a Florida canal, he would also have that rating.

He and Adine have traveled and lived all over the world. Before moving to Sequim, he lived in the following cities: Omaha, Kansas City, Boston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. During his career, he commuted to Australia and many European countries.

They have 2 sons, a daughter and 8 grandkids. In 1983, they decided to give their family Christmas presents that didn’t have to be wrapped. They now take the entire family on an annual trip to places all over the world. As a family, they have gone on many adventures: an Amazon River cruise in Peru, Australia, Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine, Machu Picchu in Peru, Belize, Bali, a week in the Guthrie Castle in Scotland, Disneyland, several trips to Mexico and to many US states and European countries. They discontinued the trips in 2019 when Covid was an issue; however, in 2020 they celebrated their 60th anniversary in a Zoom meeting with the family.

At age 87 Keith, a UFO, flies his RV8 every day, practicing an aerobatic routine. If you see a red & white RV8 doing loops, rolls, spins, or hammer-heads over the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Sequim, that is probably Keith.

When I asked him what is something his friends don’t know about him, he said,