Honoree – Elrey Jeppesen

Elrey B. Jeppesen

Honored 1970

Elrey Jeppesen was born on January 28, 1907 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His aviation career began in 1925 with Tex Rankin’s Flying Circus. He barnstormed his way down to Dallas where he got a job flying for Fairchild Aerial Surveys, photographing the delta area around New Orleans.  In 1930, he went to work for Varney Airlines and later joined Boeing Air Transport, both predecessors of United Airlines.

Flying the coast-to-coast air mail routes in terrible weather and at night was a hazardous job and too many fatal accidents had occurred. At the time, the only aids to help pilots navigate were road maps and a series of beacons.

Jeppesen began to make notes on the different airports he visited. He highlighted the landmarks, elevations, obstructions, and runway orientation-all needed for safely flying into these airports. He was meticulous in collecting information-researching these locations first-hand by surveying airport layouts, measuring heights, and collecting the names and phone numbers of airport managers and helpful local farmers. When other pilots began to ask for copies of these notebooks, he and his wife Nadine began publishing the Jeppesen Airway Manual in the basement of their home. The business grew rapidly, especially with the expansion of military aviation during World War II and the post war growth of the airline industry. In 1954, Jeppesen retired from United Airlines to give all his attention to the charting business, then headquartered at Denver’s Stapleton Airport.

The company founded by Jeppesen-now part of Boeing-has become a worldwide resource for the aviation community, providing digital navigational charting and aids for flight training.

Elrey B. Jeppesen was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1990, and was awarded the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Award for Extraordinary Service in 1995. He was honored by a bronze statue in the Denver International Airport terminal building named for him in 1995.