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Most people say they don’t have enough time in their lives. Yet Lombard resident William “Bill” Coons has accomplished more in his nearly 83 years than some would in several lifetimes.
“I’ve had a lot of fun in my life,” Coons said. “I’ve got thousands of favorite memories.”
Coons recently was selected to join the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame and will be inducted in May. This is the highest honor to be received by people whose principal aviation activity and experience is based in Illinois.
After quitting high school at age 16, Coons signed up in 1943 for a class on aviation mechanics at a school opened by the Army and Navy. Soon after passing the program, he enrolled in the Navy around his 17th birthday. During the time he spent serving in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he trained as a radio gunner in the back seat of an Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber.
Next, he was sent to San Diego, and assigned to his first aircraft carrier. Coons came down with scarlet fever shortly before departure, and someone else made the journey in his place. He eventually was transferred to Santa Ana, Calif., and assigned to a radio-controlled target aircraft squadron called VU7-A.
When his enlistment ended in October 1947, Coons began to pursue other aspirations.
Since then, Coons has taken to heart his love for art. He became a skilled and talented artist, particularly focusing on aviation art, around the time he moved to Lombard in 1958. He also painted birds, horses and portraits. He became a professional Ham radio operator and gave classes to many students. He also was a skilled photographer, who shot more than 23 covers for Model Airplane News Magazine and taught photography classes.
“I did all this for my own selfish ego, because I enjoyed it all,” Coons said. “I didn’t think it was important, but someone else was keeping score.”
He became a solo-flyer at age 60 and in 1995, he received the Fred Weick Award for maintaining and updating the safety of the Ercoupe plane, which was developed before World War II. One of his biggest accomplishments is creating the “Spacer” program that was adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration and still is used today. This developed a set of spacers that allowed the Ercoupe plane to land in any wind conditions, including crosswinds.
Coons later became a accident prevention counselor after a request from the FAA and hosted numerous free seminars on different aviation subjects.
Most people say they don’t have enough time in their lives. Yet Lombard resident William “Bill” Coons has accomplished more in his nearly 83 years than some would in several lifetimes.
“I’ve had a lot of fun in my life,” Coons said. “I’ve got thousands of favorite memories.”
Coons recently was selected to join the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame and will be inducted in May. This is the highest honor to be received by people whose principal aviation activity and experience is based in Illinois.
After quitting high school at age 16, Coons signed up in 1943 for a class on aviation mechanics at a school opened by the Army and Navy. Soon after passing the program, he enrolled in the Navy around his 17th birthday. During the time he spent serving in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., he trained as a radio gunner in the back seat of an Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber.
Next, he was sent to San Diego, and assigned to his first aircraft carrier. Coons came down with scarlet fever shortly before departure, and someone else made the journey in his place. He eventually was transferred to Santa Ana, Calif., and assigned to a radio-controlled target aircraft squadron called VU7-A.
When his enlistment ended in October 1947, Coons began to pursue other aspirations.
Since then, Coons has taken to heart his love for art. He became a skilled and talented artist, particularly focusing on aviation art, around the time he moved to Lombard in 1958. He also painted birds, horses and portraits. He became a professional Ham radio operator and gave classes to many students. He also was a skilled photographer, who shot more than 23 covers for Model Airplane News Magazine and taught photography classes.
“I did all this for my own selfish ego, because I enjoyed it all,” Coons said. “I didn’t think it was important, but someone else was keeping score.”
He became a solo-flyer at age 60 and in 1995, he received the Fred Weick Award for maintaining and updating the safety of the Ercoupe plane, which was developed before World War II. One of his biggest accomplishments is creating the “Spacer” program that was adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration and still is used today. This developed a set of spacers that allowed the Ercoupe plane to land in any wind conditions, including crosswinds.
Coons later became a accident prevention counselor after a request from the FAA and hosted numerous free seminars on different aviation subjects.
“I’ve done what I wanted to do,” Coons said, reflecting back on his eight decades. “It’s been pure joy.”
Coons wrote two books, including one titled “SHOOT Only at the Red Airplane,” about the design, development and implementation of radio-controlled U.S. Naval target aircraft drones. The other book, “Spare Time,” has only seven copies in existence and is filled with words and pictures of his life story, which he dedicated to his family.
He said being able to fly a 1946 open-cockpit airplane during 20 years for 1,500 hours of flight time is one of his most prestigious accomplishments in his life. Coons avidly talks about his wife, Spider, whom he refers to as “the love of his life,” and he has four children with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
In 2005, he was diagnosed with terminal pulmonary fibrosis with a two-year life expectancy.
Nearly five years later, Coons continues to battle the disease as it becomes worse, having only 5 percent of his lungs left to use.
“Even me ... I’ve run out of spare time,” Coons said, reflecting on his life motto that people can fit in all the things they love to do in their spare time.
Because of his illness, Coons has not flown in the past few years and will not be renewing his driver’s and pilot’s licenses in the coming months.
Walt Kessler, president of the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame, said Coons was selected from a group including 20 other nominees. Kessler said one of the most important categories considered during candidate selection is volunteer efforts, and Coons surpassed the others.
“He’s put on a lot of seminars all over Illinois at basically no charge on a volunteer basis,” Kessler said.
Since the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame was created in 1970, about 100 people have been inducted.
Coons’ induction ceremony will be held May 19, during the Illinois Aviation Conference at the Marriott Hotel in Schaumburg, with about 350 people in attendance
“He’s got very excellent character and integrity,” Kessler said. “Bill has shown a lot of volunteer enthusiasm more than anything.”
