The Greene County Board of Education recognized longtime flight instructor Herbert W. “Bill” Powley during their meeting yesterday as he was inducted into the Flight Instructor Hall of Fame. The following Press Release was issued:
Longtime flight instructor Herbert W. “Bill” Powley has been inducted into the Flight Instructor Hall of Fame. “It’s like the Heisman Trophy of flight instruction,” Powley, who is 77, explained Friday in an interview at Greeneville Municipal Airport. The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) recognized Powley as the 2023 inductee into the Flight Instructor Hall of Fame in July. On Friday, State Rep. David Hawk was on hand with friends and coworkers of Powley to congratulate him officially and thank him for his service to teens in Eastern Tennessee.
Powley is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel. After graduating from the Air Force Academy and serving more than 23 years as a fighter pilot, flight instructor, and test pilot, including two tours in Vietnam flying 347 missions in the F-4 and A-7, Powley retired from the Air Force in 1991, stated a press release from the NAFI.
Powley has continued to share his passion for aviation by volunteering his time to train pilots, most from a pool of teenagers, half of whom he says have never been in an airplane before flying solo with him. For 30 years, he has been making 80-mile roundtrips to and from the Greeneville airport on a frequent basis.
Powley, who lives in Unicoi in Unicoi County, said, smiling, “I’ve worn out a lot of airplane and truck tires.” Hawk and State Sen. Rusty Crowe, who represents a district that encompasses Washington, Unicoi, and Carter counties, recommended Powley for induction to the Flight Instructor Hall of Fame prior to the NAFI making that decision. “I guess that impressed them,” said Powley of the recommendations.
Powley founded FLIGHT (Flight Lesson Instructional Grants Helping Teens) Foundation and has personally raised more than $1.9 million for the organization, according to the NAFI press release. He said Friday he has flown more than 12,600 students on about 4,500 flights. “We do about 600 (flights) a year,” he said.
The foundation recruits youth as young as 13 years old up to 20 or 21 years of age, according to Powley. First, they get a 15-20 minute ride on an orientation (called discovery) flight. Next, they can take a solo flight, a step to getting their pilot license. “It’s exciting because you get to fly the plane yourself,” Powley stated.
Finally, there are private flights that count toward a license, if the teenager wants to pursue that. “Since there’s been a shortage of pilots, there’s a lot more people doing the program,” Powley said. He said the foundation gives each student a $5,000 scholarship toward acquiring a private license, which costs about $12,000.
Powley is employed by Greene County Schools as a flight coach. He said he works with 26 different middle and high schools located from Chattanooga to Knoxville to Bristol. Most students are in a JROTC program, he explained. “Any organization that calls me and wants some kids to fly, we’ll set it up. We just want to give them a ride,” Powley said. He said most orientation, or discovery, flights are for teenagers ages 13-18.
Hawk said, “It’s easy to support a program like this where someone like Col. Powley is running the show. I’ve met numerous students, and they all share how wonderful the opportunity to fly has been.”
“Powley joins an elite group of individuals who have been recognized for their significant contributions to flight instruction,” NAFI stated in the press release. NAFI Chairperson Karen Kalishek said in the news release that Powley’s “dedication to flight instruction and aviation safety has touched thousands of lives and serves as an inspiration to flight instructors everywhere.” Powley attended his induction ceremony in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on July 27.
According to the NAFI press release, he has been an active member and leader in many aviation organizations, including the Air Force Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association and NAFI.
In 2010, Powley received the A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Science Teacher of the Year Award from the National Aviation Hall of Fame. The Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame created a special award, Tennessee Aviation Person of the Year, to recognize him that same year.
In 2011, he received Tennessee’s highest aviation recognition, the Career Contributions to Aviation Award. In 2013, he was inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame, according to the press release.
