Elrey Borge Jeppesen

Elrey Borge Jeppesen (January 28, 1907 – November 26, 1996) was an American aviation pioneer noted for his contributions in the field of air navigation. He worked as a pilot and began making detailed notes about his routes at a time when aviators had to rely on little more than automobile road maps and landmarks for navigation. He created manuals and charts that enabled pilots to fly much more safely. Finding a demand existed for his work, he founded the Jeppesen company in 1934 to sell what he had developed.

Biography

Jeppesen was born on January 28, 1907, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. His parents were immigrants from Denmark. His father, Jens Hans Jeppesen, was an architect and builder trained in Denmark. Elrey grew up on a farm that his father had cleared and homesteaded in Odell, Oregon, before moving to Portland.

As a child, Jeppesen spent hours watching eagles fly, and flying became his obsession. In 1921, 14-year-old Jeppesen got his first taste of flying when a barnstormer took him up in a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" for a 10-minute flight for US$4 (very roughly ).

In 1925, at the age of 18, he joined Tex Rankin's Flying Circus "as a ticket taker, a prop turner, a wing walker, and an aerial acrobat". He soloed after two hours and 10 minutes of flying lessons and purchased his own Jenny for $500,

In 1930, Jeppesen joined Boeing Air Transport as an airmail pilot. Jeppesen purchased a 10-cent notebook and started writing down detailed notes about his routes.

On September 24, 1936, Jeppesen married his flight attendant, Nadine Liscomb.

On June 10, 1941, Jeppesen was involved in an accident at Denver Municipal Airport. While landing in a rainstorm, the United DC-3 aircraft overran the landing area, traveling through the airport boundary lights and into a ditch where the right landing gear failed. Neither the crew nor any of the 15 passengers were injured, but the aircraft itself sustained major damage.

In the 1940s, with the onset of World War II, the United States Army and Navy kept Jeppesen busy supplying them with his charts. Jeppesen retired from United Airlines (into which Boeing Air Transport had merged) in 1954.

Legacy The Jeppesen Company continues to exist today, formerly as a subsidiary of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, which acquired the business in October 2000.

A statue of Jeppesen, by artist George Lundeen, was in the center of the main terminal at Denver International Airport. Around the base of the statue was the accolade: "Airmail Pilot - Airline Captain - Wing Walker - Air Navigation Pioneer - Barnstormer - Air Safety Pioneer - Businessman - Instructor". The main terminal is also named in his honor.

The Museum of Flight holds the Elrey B. Jeppesen Collection in its archives. A facsimile of the Little Black Book is also on display in the museum's galleries.

Honors International Air & Space Hall of Fame in 1995 National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1990 Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in 1970 Oregon Aviation Hall of Honor OX5 Aviation Hall of Fame Edward Warner Award in 1995 Tony Jannus Award in 1975