Earl Simmons' birthday wish of flying comes true

Earl Simmons wanted to celebrate his 90th birthday in a special way, doing something he has been passionate about since he was 8 years old.

With the help of some friends, his dream of taking not one but two flights was realized Oct. 4. He went up for a sightseeing tour of the Lewes area with J&J Helicopters first and then flew with John Chirtea, leaving from Eagle Crest-Hudson Airport.

Simmons has spent countless hours flying in a variety of airplanes and helicopters over his lifetime. A member of the Army Transportation Corps stationed in war-torn Germany after World War II, he was a U.S. Army pilot and instructor. He continued to teach flying throughout most of his life.

Growing up in Folcroft, Pa., he first flew when he was 15 years old and soloed on his 16th birthday in a Piper J-3 Cub. He received his pilot's license a year later, setting into motion a lifelong fasciation with flying.

“I was always making plane models and since the third grade, I wanted to be a pilot,” he said.

He worked for Capitol International Airlines in Wilmington, flying overseas charter flights with up to 269 passengers, in Douglas DC-8 aircraft as well as Hughes Helicopters. The airline operated from 1946 until it went bankrupt in 1984.

During the Cold War era, Simmons flew helicopters for the Canadian Air Force in support of three Doppler radar stations along the west coast of Canada.

After retiring, he moved to Wilmington and eventually moved to Whispering Pines near Lewes.