OSHKOSH, Wis. — Three aviators have joined the board of directors of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). Alan Klapmeier, James Clark, and Cody Welch were elected during the annual EAA membership meeting July 31, held as part of the annual EAA AirVenture.
As Class I directors, they will each serve a three-year term on the EAA board.
“Each of these three EAA members has a diverse aviation background and, more importantly, a longtime connection with our organization in multiple areas,” said Jack Pelton, EAA’s chairman of the board. “We are grateful that each of them has stepped forward to represent our membership and help lead the association as we pursue our mission of growing participation in aviation.”
Klapmeier, of Superior, Wis., is currently chairman and CEO of Kestrel Aircraft. He was also founder of Cirrus Aircraft in 1980s, when it developed its first VK30 kit aircraft, and guided the company in the 1990s when it certificated the SR20 production airplane. Klapmeier was the 1992 recipient of EAA’s August Raspet Memorial Award and received EAA’s highest honor, the Freedom of Flight Award, in 2007. Klapmeier is an IFR-rated pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flying time in a variety of aircraft.
Clark, of Columbia, S.C., is co-founder of BANG! Technologies and was previously vice president of AT&T, executive director of Bell Labs, and chief technology officer of NCR Corporation. He also served as chairman for 60th anniversary reunion of the Tuskegee Airmen. Clark is the former president of EAA Chapter 242, has co-built an RV-6 and is building an RV-6A. He is an active Young Eagles pilot and a member of Team AeroDynamix, a precision formation aerobatic air show team featuring RV-series aircraft.
Welch, of Linden, Mich., is a retired B-757 pilot for a major airline and was a 2003 EAA President’s Award recipient. He helped develop EAA’s Tri-Motor tour program and is currently its chairman, having flown as captain on the Tri-Motor since 1993. He is also vice president and a board member of the Tri-Motor Heritage Foundation, founder/president of the Wings of Mercy East Michigan organization and active in the Air Care Alliance. He is a co-developer of Horizon Lakes residential airpark, has been manager of Price Airport in Linden, Mich., since 2001, and has owned/operated three FBOs and an aircraft sales business.