Honored 2013
Leo Scheberle was born on December 12, 1917, in St. Mary, Nebraska. His first flight, at age 21, was in Sterling, Colorado. He later soloed in a Piper J-3 Cub and received his private pilot certificate from Oliver LeBoutillier (Hall of Fame 1978).
Leo soon gained his commercial and flight instructor ratings. With these certificates, he was hired in 1941 as an instructor in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) in Sterling.
In July of 1942, CPTP instructors were in great demand and Leo had over 1000 hours of flight time. Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Leo became an instructor pilot at La Junta in 1943 training pilots for B-25 Mitchell bombers. During 1944 he instructed at Amarillo, Lowry, and Clovis Army Airfields on the B-29 Superfortress, B-17 Flying Fortress, and the B-24 Liberator, including aircraft transition, high altitude cross-country, instruments, simulated bombing above 25,000 feet, and 10-hr. long-duration training flights.
After WWII, Leo worked as an Advanced Flight Instructor and Commercial Fight Examiner for the Civilian Aviation Administration (CAA) at the Pueblo Municipal Airport. He continued to serve in the Air Force from 1946-1967 as a Lt Col Reservist working at Peterson Field, Ent AFB, and NORAD.
In 1956, his corporate aviation career began with the Rock Wool Insulation Company, and he later became an executive pilot for Navaho Freight Lines in Denver. In 1965 he began flying for Public Service Company of Colorado and retired in 1983 with 17,000 logged flight hours. By the time of his retirement, he had acquired an ATP rating and had received several corporate national Safe Flying Awards with over two million flight miles.
Do you have an interest or want to support general, commercial, or military aviation?