Carmichaels pilot honored for 50 years of service
Courtesy of Polhemus family
An aerial shot of Blomster Field Farm, where Chris Polhemus has a grass runaway and taught his children how to fly airplanes.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Chris Polhemus is greeted by his son as he arrives at a surprise award ceremony celebrating his aviation career.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Chris Polhemus speaks after receiving his award as his wife Katherine looks on.
Chris Polhemus was expecting a simple breakfast with some local pilots at the Greene County Airport Saturday morning.
What he found instead was a room full of loved ones and colleagues he had not seen in several years who had come together to watch the Federal Aviation Administration award him with the agency’s most prestigious honor for pilots.
“Flabbergasted, is probably the one word. It’s amazing,” Polhemus, of Carmichaels, said as he received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, which goes to pilots with 50 or more years of flight experience.
“I look around the room here, I see so many guys that I’ve known for so long in aviation who also would deserve this award just as much as I do,” Polhemus added. “I’d like to thank so many people, starting by thanking God for all the blessings he has given us.”
Wendy Grimm, manager of the Allegheny Flight Standards District Office, presented Polhemus with the award after detailing his aviation history.
“Chris had a godfather that flew the B-17, and paid for Chris’ initial flight training. He also had an uncle who was a naval aviator in World War II. These aviation aficionados inspired Chris to pursue an aviator’s path,” Grimm told the crowd of about three dozen people.
Polhemus took his first solo flight July 19, 1972, the point from which the FAA begins tracking years of experience.
Polhemus and his wife Katherine own Blomster Field Farm in Carmichaels, where there is a runway on the property.
Grimm presented Polhemus with a plaque, as well as two pins for both him and his wife. Also part of the award? A “blue ribbon package” that contains every record and document kept by the FAA throughout his aviation career.
She explained to the crowd that the FAA sifts through these records to verify the detail’s of a nominee’s career.
“But then we thought, what a nice gift to give that person. Those memories – all those names, the people you’ve flown with and so forth, as a memento after receiving that award,” Grimm said.
Polhemus’ passion for aviation has carried on through his children, who put together the award ceremony without his knowledge.
Chris Polhemus Jr. went through the process to nominate his father for the award.
“I know how much he has done for the aviation community, specifically in Greene County, and all the people that he has mentored to get into airline jobs and aviation-related jobs. I figured this would be a great way to reward him for everything that he has done,” he said.
The younger Chris Polhemus is himself a pilot in the U.S. Navy. From a young age he fell in love with the work of his father, who was happy to be his teacher.
“I think we’ve got pictures of my first flights where we had to put two cushions up on the seats so I could actually reach the controls,” Chris Polhemus Jr. said. “I think 10 years old is when I started to log flight time with my dad.”
Emily Capule, Chris Polhemus Sr.’s daughter, also learned to fly from her father when she was in high school.
“I’m just really excited for him. He deserves this, aviation is his whole life. I just love seeing people come together to celebrate him,” Capule said.
After receiving the award, Chris Polhemus recognized his children and fondly recalled a lifetime in the skies.
“They both learned how to fly in the backyard, it was great,” Polhemus said. “The flying that I’ve done has just been unbelievable.”