

Oldest Living Pilot in the World

CaptMiller1CaptMiller2 Captain John Miller is the oldest living pilot in the country, if not the world, today. He’s 102 yrs. old and still circles above his Poughkeepsie neighborhood in his 1969 Beechcraft A36 Bonanza. He’s been flying since he was 18 years old, that’s 84 years – practically since the invention of aircraft! In fact, as an impressionable 4-year old he remembers when aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss set a world record in his “flying machine” called the Hudson Flier.

It was May 1910 when Curtiss flew from Albany to NYC stopping briefly in Poughkeepsie to refuel when little John first caught sight of Glenn as well as his own inevietable future. From that day forward John lived, breathed and dreamed about becoming a pilot just like Glenn. That day came true when in highschool he was given a World War I Jenny JN-7H Classic Barnstormer to refurbish (WWI had just ended) and practice his passion. Instinctively, he knew the aerodynamics and mechanics of the rudder, the wing dihedral and 4 ailerons and elevator. Fast-forward nearly a century and you have undeniably talented, brave and accomplished military and civilian Captain who has, perhaps, lived more time in the air than on the ground.

Having a fetish for all things that fly I couldn’t get enough of talking with Captain Miller or burrowing through his collection of rare photographs and newspaper clippings. Years of navigating in an open cockpit with loud rotating blades has deafened most of John’s hearing so I kept my questions to a minimum and let him recite his remarkable past and the memories he holds dear.

Be watching PilotGirl Productions team up with Shenise Productions in creating a powerful and dramatic documentary on John, Glenn Curtiss and the re-enacting of Glenn’s triumphant trip down the Hudson with ace-historian and pilot Steve Doherty at the helm.

Categories: General
Sonja Stark