West Houston Airport Chief Pilot C.G. “Hank” Henry passed away Aug. 7, 2019. He was 94.
Born 1925, in Crossville, Tennessee, Hank was a flight instructor with over 35,000 hours of flight time, most of which was instructing.
Hank learned to fly at an early age and served in World War II as crew of the B-24. He later managed flight operations for an FBO in Galveston, Texas, and went on to become the Chief Pilot/Test Pilot for Navion Aircraft Corporation.
His stints included working as mechanic and pilot for Guinn Flying Service in Pearland, Texas. In 1973 he joined the staff at West Houston Airport where he served in various positions including Maintenance Supervisor, Charter Pilot, Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), Chief Pilot, and FAA Designated Pilot Examiner.
“Hank is an aviation legend teaching generations of pilots. He has students who are now professional pilots at probably every airline around the world,” said Woody Lesikar, Airport Manager of West Houston Airport. “I’ve known him for 60 years. He taught me to fly in the 60’s.”
Hank’s credentials included that of commercial pilot with a multi-engine, instrument, Citation, Seaplane and Glider ratings, CFI/AI, Inspector Aircraft and Pilot Examiner. He received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award and the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, the AOPA Presidential Award, was inducted into the International Forest of Friendship by the Women’s Organization of the 99s, and numerous other recognitions for his accomplishments.
Hank had flown over 300 models of aircraft, including Stearman, Douglas DC3s, all Cessna models, Piper models, Mooneys, and Beechcraft products, Taylorcrafts, Ercoupes, Interstates, even a Jenny.
Hank flew as Pilot-in-Command until he was 90.
The airport will honor Hank at a memorial service Saturday, Aug. 17, at 10:30 a.m. at the West Houston Airport Terminal.
He trained me in 1996-97. I had been struggling in my early flight training and Hank spent about 5 hours flying with me to shake some of my bad flying habits. I will never forget……..if I made a mistake he would bang on the top of the instrument dashboard and yell at me in that high pitched Texan drawl……..”Are you trying to kill me? Keep this airplane over the centerline when you are in ground effect, use the gall darned ailerons!!!!!”
One afternoon he said to me, “you are about ready to solo”….then as I was flying circuits around the airport landing, he told me about his first solo flight. He said, “I will nehvar fargit, it was 50 years ago……… mah instructor used to bang his gall durned hand on the instrument panel……and yell his lungs out if I evaar de-eviated from his flight instructions…….then one day he let me solo………aaaannnddd, it was so qui-et up thar, I thought my Gaawd, this is nice.” When he was done with the story he told me to taxi the plane over to the ramp. I did, and he got out. He looked at me and said, “It is time for you-all to scare only yourself, do 3 landings by yerself and then taxi baack here.” I did as he told me and then taxied up to him. I had completed my first solo flight. I killed the engine and he said, “Well, Yankee, what was it like?” I said, “Hank, it was so quiet and I thought to myself, my God this is nice!!!!!” He laughed.
Hank told me he was shot down or crashed B-24 bombers 5 times over northern Europe during WW2. He told me as he was giving me instruction on emergency landings, “we always rode it down if we could. We would find a nice big field, get in ground effect and stall the big plane with the wheels up. If you don’t panic and learn to bring it down slowly it will get you back…….it got us back.”
He is another of America’s real heros from the “Greatest Generation”…….I saw his name listed in the USAF Museum and Memorial in Duxford, England when I was there. I will never forget him………..they (the British) haven’t forgot him either. I stopped by to visit him in 2012 and I gave him a digital photo I had found of one of the B-24s he flew in WW2 called “My Akin’ Ass.” I found it on a 5th Air Force Website. He thanked me and we said our Goodbyes.
I owe him a huge debt that can never be repaid. He taught me to be confident in crosswinds……he taught me to identify and respect the dangerous aspects of flight and to trust my instruments…….he taught me to recover from unusual attitudes and land on pastures. He opened up a world that I could only see and feel with his help, with his nurturing with his stern lectures. Whenever I see him and we part, I get this strange feeling, that somehow we are connected by the gift he gave me, that the gift is so precious I can never repay him and that I can never find the words to express to him how much I appreciate him turning me into a pilot and opening such a wonderful world up to me.
Mr Henry, Was my examiner for my check ride in 2004.