Cape native Kenneth McElreath shares lifetime of aviation adventures at Civil Air Patrol meeting

Kenneth McElreath has had a full life of experiences while working for the Civil Air Patrol. On Thursday, Oct. 10, he shared some of them when he spoke at the Civil Air Patrol squadron meeting at the Cape Girardeau Armory.

McElreath grew up in Cape Girardeau and graduated in 1964 from Cape Central High School, where he was salutation.

“I joined the Civil Air Patrol and I never, never looked back. It was a wonderful, wonderful thing,” McElreath said.

The Civil Air Patrol is a federally chartered not-for-profit that is the Air Force auxiliary, with a mission to support communities with emergency response, aviation and ground services, youth development and promotion of air, space and cyber power through education, according to the U.S. Air Force's website.

He recounted his early aviation interest, starting with his first plane ride at age 4, and joining the Civil Air Patrol in eighth grade after a presentation was given on the organization at Trinity Lutheran School. He then detailed his journey through the Air Force Academy, earning a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering, and his career at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and Rockwell Collins.

Throughout his career, McElreath said he met many memorable people such as Ivanette Wright Miller, niece of the Wright brothers; Col. Siegfried Kniemeier, who influenced aviation technology; and Dick Covey, an astronaut. He called meeting both Wright Miller and Covey bookends of his aviation adventure.

McElreath also highlighted his work at Rockwell Collins, where he helped develop the first military GPS system and a flight management system. His career also included volunteering to do high-acceleration cockpit design and research in the dynamic environment simulator. He said he has had the most rides — 101 — in this machine out of anyone who has done it. He also detailed various aviation projects and experiences. He described flying to the North Pole in 1996, working on the Royal Air Force's AWACS, developing the first four-axis automatic flight control system for Coast Guard helicopters and helping upgrade military transport aircraft for multiple countries such as Egypt.

After talking about his career and personal life, McElreath ended his talk with a Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5, saying, "One day you will share your heritage with a new generation” as he did with those in attendance.