Dave Schlingman
David Schlingman did more than just go to college. In addition to earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and an associate’s degree in aviation technology, the Pottstown, Pennsylvania, native gave civilian and ROTC flight instruction, flew charters in the summer, and got hooked on warbirds, thanks to the Army Guard’s L-19 and Gary Levitz and his P-51.
Feeding his passion he crewed for the unlimited F8F racer, “Rare Bear,” and kept adding to his pilot ratings until he held an airline transport pilot certificate and a warbird unlimited letter of authorization. He went to work for TWA in 1964, and through the years he’s served as a flight engineer, captain, simulator instructor, ground school instructor, and line instructor who has flown everything in the line’s fleet starting with the Lockheed Constellation and including the entire Boeing 7-series.
Dave crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans 1,041 times and flew TWA’s last 747 flight from Tel Aviv, Israel, to New York in February1998. In another 747, he and his crew also set the speed record between New York and Rome – six hours, 34 minutes – that still stands. He retired from TWA after his last Honolulu to St. Louis flight in December 1998 as the airline’s highest time 767 captain with 6,727 hours.
Dave joined EAA Warbirds of America in 1976, was elected one of its directors in 1981, and served as its vice president from 1982 to 1988. He led the committee that responded to the Hamilton Standard propeller Airworthiness Directive and the committee for the small N-number exemption. But Dave found his warbird niche in 1997 when he started working as an air boss with Walt Troyer at Forbes AFB in Topeka, Kansas, and with Reg Urschler at Offutt AFB in Omaha, Nebraska.
Soon thereafter, Dave became the air boss at EAA AirVenture and EAA Sun ‘n Fun, a position he held at Oshkosh until 1998 and holds today at Sun ‘n Fun. His favorite AirVenture shows are 1985’s Tribute to Vietnam Veterans and 1995’s Tribute to Valor, during which 172 warbirds crossed the airport from three directions.
Dave owned a number of warbirds between 1977 and 1998, including a T-34 and a T-28, in which he flew 1,800 hours. And he’s flown a number of his friends’ warbirds; T-34, A-26B, B-17, AD-4 Skyraider, P-51, T-6, B-25, AT-11, L-19, L-17, S-2 Tracker and a Tiger Moth he flew in England with one of the Concorde pilots (remember, Dave, drive on the left side of the road and push left rudder on takeoff).
A volunteer at Sun ‘n Fun since 1975 and director since 1988, Dave has left his mark on this event’s operations and other Florida aviation activities in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, and he has formed committees to save his local airport from commercial development. For his efforts, he has twice been awarded the key to the city! With more than 23,500 flight hours, Dave Schlingman truly embodies the Warbirds motto, “Keep ’em Flying.”