Clarence Schampers, longtime Shawano Municipal Airport manager, was recently honored at a retirement party to commemorate his 54 years with the airport.
“I had just gotten my commercial license and was looking to build some time in the air,” Schampers said of his early days at the airport in May 1971. “Until you get 1,500 hours, there isn’t much anyone will let you do.”
In recent years, he stopped tracking some of his hours in the air, but today it’s well beyond 15,000.
His tenure with the airport started modestly — mowing grass and plowing snow. Eventually, he worked his way into being a flight instructor and airport manager, flying for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, providing fire patrol and offering sightseeing flights.
Schampers also started Shawano Flying Service, a fixed-base operator that provides aviation-related services such as fueling, maintenance, hangarage and passenger services. It’s still around today.
Schampers said he always told new pilots to say “Shawano” twice when getting information to land.
“‘Shawano’ and ‘Oconto’ can sound a lot alike on the radio, and years ago, both airports had a runway 11/29,” he said. “So I told them to make sure everyone was clear on where they were going to be when they landed.”
Airport runways are numbered and lettered according to the runway’s magnetic heading, which serves as a compass.
“True north and the magnetic North Pole are not the same thing,” Schampers said. “It can change by a degree, and that’s why Oconto’s is still 11/29, but Shawano’s is 12/30.”
Among Schampers’ favorite memories is when he gave aerial tours.
“Some people had never been in an airplane before,” he said. “It was fun to get them up there and point out things from the air.”
Of course, there’s always a least favorite, too. Schampers put in a lot of hours at the airport.
“I was working six days a week, starting at 8 a.m. and working until sometimes 7 p.m. in the summer months,” he said. “Except for Sundays, I was there, not counting Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.”
At 80 years old, Schampers’ flying days are done, but he still owns a Cessna 172. He’s owned the four-seater, a 1973 model, for about 20 years.
“That’s more than 50 years old, but that’s not old in the aviation business,” he said. “A lot of planes from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960 are still good. Doug Engel (a member of the Shawano Airport Commission) has a 1938 Piper Cub.”
One of the biggest and best improvements at the airport was the installation of the Automated Weather Observing System, Schampers said.
AWOS is an airport-based system that collects and disseminates weather data to pilots and the National Weather Service for aviation safety and forecasting purposes. AWOS units measure parameters like wind speed, temperature, dew point, visibility and cloud height, with data often streamed live to an airport’s web platform and updated at frequent intervals.
“Before this was up and running, pilots used to radio in and ask for weather advisories,” Schampers said. “Today, with AWOS, you can be 15 to 20 miles away, you can dial in and get all of the same information.”
Schampers retired in May, nearly 54 years to the day from when he first started. A retirement party in his honor was held Sept. 11.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com