![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Thomas-E-Cochran.png\")
Born in Beaver, West Virginia, on July 8, 1940, Thomas (Tom)\nR. Cochran dedicated the latter part of his career to ensuring aviation\u2019s\nsuccess in southern West Virginia. Originally a coal miner, Tom pursued a\nsecond career in aviation, attending the Spartan School of Aeronautics in\nTulsa, Oklahoma. It was there he earned his Federal Aviation Administration\ncertifications in 1968 in aircraft maintenance, radio operations, and aircraft\naccident insurance investigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After receiving his A & P license, Tom was hired by\nTrans World Airlines (TWA) as an aircraft mechanic based at Dulles\nInternational Airport where he worked for 3 years until a nationwide layoff\nforced him to look elsewhere for employment. He found work with the Pittson\nCoal Company and remained until retiring on July 7, 1997. The following day,\nTom was hired as the Director of Raleigh County Memorial Airport, located in\nBeaver, WV. It was here his aviation career would flourish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aside from Tom\u2019s commitment to a safe airport operating\nenvironment, his foresight and understanding of how airports serve as economic\nengines is second to none. His role in promoting the airport as a\nself-sustaining entity ripe with economic opportunity for the entire region\npropelled the Raleigh County Memorial Airport forward. Under Tom\u2019s guidance,\nthe airport completed several projects to improve safety, including obstruction\nremoval, major interior and exterior passenger terminal renovations, and the\noversight of the development of the corporate hangar area and industrial park\nwhich led the way for future economic growth. His push for economic\ndiversification led to a partnership with higher education, offering training\nto those seeking positions in aerospace technology. This alone is extraordinary\nas graduates now have the choice to stay in West Virginia for the entirety of\ntheir aviation careers, keeping the economy growing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is perhaps Tom\u2019s service to his community that most recognize him. Always an advocate for West Virginia, Tom served with numerous volunteer organizations, including Visit Southern WV and the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority. Tom\u2019s successful career and outstanding character are truly inspiring. His impact on aviation perfectly lends itself to his induction into the WV Aviation Hall of Fame. Tom and his wife, Barbara, currently reside in Kingsland, Georgia. They are the parents of Wendy Campbell and Susan Cochran and the grandparents of Isaiah, David and Amelia Campbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Perry-E-Dillon-edit.jpg\")
Born in Barton, West Virginia, on March 29, 1937, Perry E.\nDillon not only pursued his own passion for flight but steadfastly assisted\nothers in pursuing theirs, ensuring aviation thrived in West Virginia. Perry\u2019s\nlove for aviation took root early in life after seeing a P-51 Mustang up close.\nIt was not until 1956 in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, that Perry was able to record his\nfirst flight. It would not be the last time he would fly; in fact, it was only\nthe beginning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having experienced the wonder of flight, Perry continued\nflight training in Elkins, West Virginia, as money allowed. He finally secured\nhis Private Pilot license in April 1960. He continued down this path,\nsupporting his growing family by day and pursuing his aviation dreams in the\nevenings. It was June 1961 before Perry secured his Commercial Pilot\u2019s license.\nHe immediately began building time towards his ultimate goal of employment with\nan airline. He became a Certified Flight Instructor in January 1962; however,\nPerry experienced a temporary roadblock. There was no demand for flight\ninstruction nor any aircraft to provide instruction. This spurred his decision\nto move to Mississippi to train for crop dusting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fate would step in while Perry was in Mississippi in the\nform of a group of Elkins, WV, residents who were seeking an instructor for\ntheir soon-to-be-formed flying club. Perry accepted their invitation to return\nto Elkins and in May 1962, the Club was operational with their first aircraft.\nIn the first year of operation, Perry would assist 27 pilots through their\nfirst solo flight with a total of 100 students in training by January 1964. In\nApril 1964, Perry finally achieved his dream of becoming an airline pilot after\nsecuring a position with Lake Central Airlines. His professional airline career\nwould span more than three decades and culminate in upgrading to Captain with\nU.S. Air before retiring in 1994. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perry’s love for aviation endured after retirement. His\nselfless demeanor made him approachable to all and he readily shared his wealth\nof knowledge with fellow pilots at the Elkins-Randolph County Airport. It was\nhis unwavering support of aviation and nearly fifty years of training pilots in\nthe Elkins Pilot Club that earned him recognition from the Aircraft Owners and\nPilot Association (AOPA). He and his wife, Rita, were the parents of two sons –\nNick and Rick and three daughters \u2013 Betsy, Deb and Donna. Perry died at his\nhome in Beverly, WV, on June 16, 2021. His commitment to aviation was evident\nto all who knew him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The state of West Virginia is proud to recognize Perry E.\nDillon’s great influence on aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The West Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame is located in the\nterminal building of the North Central West Virginia Airport (CKB) in\nClarksburg, WV. Each Inductee will be\nhonored by having a descriptive plaque dedicated to them praising their\ncontributions to West Virginia aviation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The West Virginia Airport Managers Association is honored to announce the induction of two distinguished individuals into the West Virginia Aviation Hall of Fame. They are, Thomas E. Cochran and Perry E. Dillon. An installment ceremony to celebrate the 2023 inductees was held July 31, 2023, during a private event at Canaan Valley Resort during […]<\/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":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-west-virginia"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26330","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=26330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26333,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26330\/revisions\/26333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}