Francis A. (Frank) Fine, Jr. – Wall Township, New Jersey
During World War II Frank’s parents were neighborhood volunteer air raid wardens. They were issued official airplane spotter cards to hopefully help them identify any airplanes flying overhead as either friendly or enemy aircraft. As a child he studied those cards for hours, learning airplane configurations. When he was a young teen he rode his bicycle from Nutley, NJ to Teterboro Airport to watch the airplanes in action.
He enlisted in the Marines during the Korean War, hoping to be a pilot, but his vision disqualified him. Later he used the GI Bill to learn to fly and obtain his Private Pilot License. Eventually he received his Commercial, Multi-Engine, Sea Plane, Instrument, Instructor, and Instrument Instructor ratings. He has restored several antique aircraft, two of which he has donated to museums. A 1939 Taylorcaft is in the College Park Aviation Museum in Maryland and a 1944 Military Piper L4 is on display at the Piper Aviation Museum in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Along with his wife, June, he was the advisor for Aviation Explorer Post 19 – a youth program in Monmouth County, NJ - which produced several officers in the US Air force as well as future airline pilots, an aviation missionary, and numerous general aviation pilots.
He is a Past President of Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 315, a founding member of the Central Jersey Soaring Club, an original member, Past President, and Chief Flight Instructor for the Monmouth Area Flying Club. He is still flying and instructing. On his 80th birthday, he became a member of the United Flying Octogenarians (UFO).