Charles "Charlie" William Elrod was born on June 7, 1918 in Denver, CO to Peter and Grace Russell Elrod. Sadly, Grace passed while giving birth to Charlie. As a result, his childhood was spent in Midland, SD where he was raised by his grandparents. Charlie graduated from high school in 1936 and began to work for the Martin Marietta Aircraft Plant in Santa Monica, CA. At one point, Charlie told his grandmother that he wanted to learn how to fly. Thinking that the answer would be "No," she told him to ask his father. Fortunately for us, Peter told Charlie that before he could fly he must "learn the mechanics of the planes first."

Following his father's request, Charlie attended the Lincoln, Nebraska Flying School where he received his Aircraft and Mechanic license. He then pursued his dream of flying by moving to Maxton, NC in 1939 and enrolled in Civil Aviation at Presbyterian Junior College. After he received his pilot's license, Charlie went on to train further in advanced flying at the Lumberton Airport where he met his lifelong sweetheart Ella Ruth Kirkman. They were married in 1941.

Charlie and Ruth then moved to Bennettsville, SC where Charlie became a civilian instructor for the Georgia Air Service. Charlie also taught Air Force cadets how to fly, and after two-and-a-half years, he decided to enter the Air Force Transport Command. He was stationed in Cairo, Egypt where he ferried planes and supplies overseas in support of the war effort. In 1945, Charlie finally returned home to the United States flying a very war-weary airplane.

Charlie proceeded to work for Western Electric and then moved on to Benson Aircraft in Raleigh, NC in 1954. Dr. Igor Benson developed the concept of gyrocopters, and Charlie assisted him by tooling and building these machines. Charlie was very mechanically inclined and was capable of taking an idea from prototype, to testing, to development production tooling, and ultimately into a final product. Dr. Benson seldom made a demonstration flight if Charlie, his "right-hand man," was not there assembling, pre-flighting, fueling, starting the engine, and making sure that everything was set and okay. Charlie was one of Benson Aircraft's first employees, if not the first, and he remained with the company until its closure in 1986.

Gyrocopters were his life. At Benson Aircraft, Charlie built every gyrocopter with pride and love, and over the years taught many young men all there was to know about the engineering and tool-and-die processes of these machines. Charlie was so concerned about the safety of the pilots that it broke his heart to hear of accidents when they were learning how to fly, especially, those that could have been avoided if more safety procedures were in place prior to take off.

Charlie will also be remembered for helping start the Popular Rotorcraft Association (PRA) magazine and sponsoring the first PRA Fly-In in Raleigh, NC. Charlie holds the No. 3 life membership and was even pictured in the very first issue.

Charlie bravely battled Alzheimer's for nine years and passed away on March 23, 1999 in Raleigh, NC. Charlie and Ruth were married 58 years and had four daughters. Charlie was always proud of "his girls" and was an ever-loving and doting grandfather and great grandfather. Charles "Charlie" William Elrod lived a long and fulfilling life leaving behind a legacy that can be matched by only a very few.