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The National Coalition for Aviation and Space Education\n(NCASE) was one of those organizations that had the privilege of sharing in his\nexpertise, his knowledge, and his joy of service. Johnson was deeply involved\nwith aviation education for much of his life and was a participant and\ncontributor to NCASE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were all saddened at the news that the Coalition\u2019s\nlongtime colleague, friend, confidant, and mentor had passed away,\u201d said Rol\nMurrow, NCASE President. \u201cHe contributed so much to the world of aviation,\nespecially to aviation education and the Civil Air Patrol, during his long\ncareer. He provided wise counsel to so\nmany of us over the years and will be greatly missed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnson was born in Duluth, Minnesota, married Lynn Johnson\nin 1949, and raised three sons, Scott, Bruce and Mark, and one daughter, Kathy.\nHe joined the Minnesota Wing of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in December 1945 following\nWWII service with the Army Air Corps and became active with the Minneapolis\nSquadron while attending the University of Minnesota. Johnson served 7 years as\nthe Wing Director of Cadets and Aviation Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After graduating from the University of Minnesota with\ndegrees in Business Administration and Industrial Engineering, Johnson spent a\ngood deal of his career in Illinois, retiring as the Manager of the Chicago\nOffice of the Illinois Department of Transportation\u2019s Division of Aeronautics,\na career position he held for 34 years (1958\u20131992). Among his responsibilities\nwas the State\u2019s interest in volunteer aviation organizations and the\nenhancement of aviation education activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1958 Johnson had been recruited to join the Illinois Wing\nof the CAP accepting the challenge in assisting the Wing Commander to\nreorganize the Headquarters and the formal establishment of a new \u201cBureau of\nCivil Air Patrol Affairs and Aviation Education\u201d within the State\u2019s aeronautics\noffice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this capacity until 1993, Johnson worked with the Wing\nCommander and Staff to enhance the overall CAP program in Illinois, including\nthe State\u2019s aviation support of disaster relief and professional aviation education\nactivities. In addition, the administration of the Illinois Aviation Forum and\nthe Aviation Hall of Fame activities were included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within this framework under the guidance of Johnson, the\nsuccessful creation of the Illinois Wing Flight Encampment was accomplished\nwith the subsequent expansion to offer Power, Glider & Hot Air Balloon\ntraining. The focus was to create a statewide opportunity for cadets to have a\nhands-on flight and education experience leading to a FAA Solo Flight\nCertificate and the award of CAP Solo Wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jim Bildilli, who worked with Johnson for 25 years at the\nDivision and for several more after he retired, said Johnson was a Flight\nSafety Coordinator handling the 6 counties around Chicago and started a\nwonderful program which was eventually named after him, the Ray Johnson Civil\nAir Patrol (CAP) flight encampment, at Coles County Memorial Airport (MTO). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was the Illinois liaison to the CAP and attended nearly\neverything that the CAP did in Illinois and nationally,\u201d said Bildilli. \u201cRay\nwas a unique individual and totally dedicated to all things aviation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following his retirement move to Prescott, AZ in 1994,\nJohnson continued an active role in both aviation and aviation education which\nhas included Chairman, of the National Aeronautic Association\u2019s Education\nCommittee and NAA Delegate to the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration A\u00e9ronautique Internationale (FAI)\nincluding serving as President of the Aviation Education Commission and was a\nstrong champion of the International Aviation Art Contest featuring delightful\nentries from children all over the world. \nRay was a proud member of the former Embry-Riddle Board of Visitors and\na member of the Prescott Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Ray-Johnson-2.jpg\")
Photo by Kim Stevens<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had the opportunity to visit with Ray in Prescott,\u201d said\nKim Stevens, Vice President of NCASE. \u201cRay and I attended an aviation event at\nthe Prescott Airport. We sat at a picnic table in one of the hangers and ate\nlunch together. I remember Ray sharing many fascinating stories about his life\nand the industry he loved.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnson held a Commercial Pilots Certificate with Airplane,\nGlider, and Hot Air Balloon ratings, and held a World Flight Record as well.\nHis initial flight training was with the WWII Army Air Corps as a flight\nengineer in the B-29. Johnson has been recognized nationally as an author,\neditor, and consultant with non-profit organizations. He has previously held a\nleadership role with several organizations including positions as president or\nboard member of the Balloon Federation of America, the Soaring Society of\nAmerica, and the National Coalition for Aviation Education, now named NCASE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shelia Bauer, a contributing member of NCASE said she had\nthe honor of knowing and working with Johnson throughout her entire career at\nthe FAA. \u201cI can\u2019t think of Ray Johnson without thinking of Dr. Marvin\nStrickler, [often considered the Father of Aviation Education.] Our nation\u2019s\nhistory in Aviation Education stems from the leadership of such men,\u201d said\nBauer. \u201cI will remember Ray as an intelligent, gentle man, with a quiet stoic\nsmile. We will all miss him dearly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Johnson was a recipient of numerous awards and honors,\nincluding the National Aeronautic Association\u2019s Frank G. Brewer Trophy, the\nNile Gold Medal and the Paul Tissandier Diploma from FAI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In receiving the Brewer Trophy in 1994, Johnson was\nrecognized \u201cfor nearly a half-century of leadership and innovation in aviation\nand aerospace education at all levels, kindergarten through university. His\npioneering leadership has been demonstrated at the local community level, as\nwell as state, regional, national and international levels. His work involved\nstimulating volunteers in Civil Air Patrol\u2019s programs as well as educators at\nall grade levels and curricular areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judy Rice, a past president of NCASE, said that Johnson was\none of her finest mentors and personal friend before, during, and after her\nworld flight. \u201cHe was the most gracious, passionate, aviation educator that I\nhad the honor to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Betty P. Wilson, Public Relations and Education Manager for\nthe Virginia Department of Aviation, said she was so sorry to hear about\nJohnson’s passing. \u201cHe was knowledgeable, helpful, and always interested in\nwhat was going on in aviation education. Because of his long and extensive\nexperience, he was a great resource for a younger state aviation educator like\nme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There has been an echo heard around the world – he will\ntruly be missed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The life of Raymond J. Johnson was a life dedicated to aviation. His passion for the industry truly touched people around the globe as he worked in state aviation, the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) and many other organizations. On April 7, 2020, Johnson passed away […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-education"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15542,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15541\/revisions\/15542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}