Inducted in 1996
Founder and President, Experimental Aircraft Association
Paul Poberezny, 1921 – 2013
Tom Poberezny, 1946 – 2022
Paul H. Poberezny is one of the most decorated men in the international aviation community, having received hundreds of trophies, awards and honors for his countless contributions to the world of flight. He is best known as the founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), one of the world’s leading aviation organizations.
The career of Paul Poberezny includes nearly 30 years of military service as a pilot, test pilot and veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. He is the only man in the armed forces to attain all seven aviation wings the military offered and did so without having the benefit of military aviation training. Paul has logged more than 30,000 hours of flight time, has piloted 391 different types of aircraft, and designed and built more than 15 different planes.
Tom Poberezny, Paul’s son, was the President of the EAA. Tom had been the Chairman of the annual EAA Fly-In Convention since 1977. The event attracts more than 800,000 people and 12,000 airplanes to Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, WI.
As President of the EAA Aviation Foundation, Tom led the concept, design, and development of the EAA Aviation Center in Oshkosh that also houses the EAA Air Adventure Museum. One of the Foundation’s main projects is the “Young Eagles” program.
Paul and Tom Poberezny were two of the foremost visionaries in the world of aviation today.