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Fred B. Kacena
Posted 3/27/07
Fred B. Kacena, 89 LEWES - Delaware pioneer in aviation, Fred B. Kacena of Lewes, formerly of Newark, passed away Friday, March 23, 2007, in Harbor Health and Rehabilitation Center, Lewes. He was 89. …
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Fred B. Kacena
Posted
Fred B. Kacena, 89
LEWES - Delaware pioneer in aviation, Fred B. Kacena of Lewes, formerly of Newark, passed away Friday, March 23, 2007, in Harbor Health and Rehabilitation Center, Lewes. He was 89.
Mr. Kacena was born Aug. 1, 1917, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the eldest son of the late Fred and Bertha Kacena.
After completing high school, he joined the U.S. Army, serving in the field artillery. He later enrolled in the Luscombe School of Aeronautics in Trenton, N.J. While living in Trenton, he met Josephine A. Pierozak and the couple married in Aug. 1941.
Mr. Kacena began working at Kellett Autogyro Co. as a welder and also taught night school courses in Philadelphia. He then moved on to the Iowa Airplane Co.. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor caused the shutdown of civilian aircraft businesses so he contacted the Air Corps Flight School in Uvalde, Texas, and was hired as a PT-19 expert.
After three years in Texas, he moved to Davenport, Iowa, where he worked on Aeroncas and Navy N3N-3s at a Navy V-12 program. Later, at Fleetwings in Bristol, Pa., he participated in engine buildup for an experimental Navy divebomber and then moved into experimental welding. When this project shut down, he "civilianized" military surplus aircraft at the Old Star Airport in Langhorne, Pa.
Mr. Kacena and his family moved to Newark in 1948 when he began working as a control surface specialist for TWA. When the airline moved to Kansas City, he remained in Delaware where he worked for two years on an atomic power program at the University of Delaware, while also being employed reconditioning Navy blimps at the General Development Corp. in Elkton, Md.
His next endeavor was an airplane shop at Lovett Airport in Elkton that his friends called "Fat Freddie's Fly Factory." He passed the authorized inspector examination for the Federal Aviation Administration and when Lovett Airport was sold, he set up shop as a foreman at Chester County Aviation. When the next opportunity to join the FAA arose, he jumped at it and then spent the next 15 years commuting from Newark to Baltimore Airport.
After retiring from the FAA, Mr. Kacena was given the responsibility of a designated area representative authorized to certify amateur-built and restricted aircraft and to re-issue standard certificates for the FAA.
He became interested in the Experimental Aircraft Association in the 1950s and became a lifetime member. Twice he served as president of Chapter 240 (Wilmington and Toughkenamon, Pa.); he was chief fundraiser for the chapter house/hanger. For many years, Fred taught courses at the EAA Academy at Oshkosh, Wis. He was also a member of the OX-5 group and the QBs.
Mr. Kacena received numerous awards and honors from the aviation community. He was most pleased by the Experimental Aircraft Association Major Achievement Award for Outstanding Service to the EAA and Recreational Aviation presented to him in 2004. This was a fitting end to more than 60 years dedicated to his love of flight. He retired because of ill health in 2004.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Josephine; and a brother, Charles Kacena.
He is survived by a brother, Leo Kacena of Hawthorne, Calif.; two daughters, Janina K. Darling of Cornelius, Ore. and Marianna K. Dyal of Lewes; three grandchildren, Mark W. Preston of East Norriton, Pa., Deborah A. Dignan of Middletown and David A. Darling of Palo Alto, Calif.; and four great-grandchildren, Erin Dignan, Laura Dignan and Kelly Dignan, all of Middletown, and Sean Preston of East Norriton.
A gathering for family and friends will be 2 p.m. Friday in the chapel of Gracelawn Memorial Park, 2220 N. DuPont Parkway, New Castle.
Burial will follow in the adjoining memorial park.
A memorial service will be announced at a future date.
Instead of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Autism Society of America, 7910 Woodmont Ave., Ste. 300, Bethesda, MD 20814.
LEWES - Delaware pioneer in aviation, Fred B. Kacena of Lewes, formerly of Newark, passed away Friday, March 23, 2007, in Harbor Health and Rehabilitation Center, Lewes. He was 89.
Mr. Kacena was born Aug. 1, 1917, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the eldest son of the late Fred and Bertha Kacena.
After completing high school, he joined the U.S. Army, serving in the field artillery. He later enrolled in the Luscombe School of Aeronautics in Trenton, N.J. While living in Trenton, he met Josephine A. Pierozak and the couple married in Aug. 1941.
Mr. Kacena began working at Kellett Autogyro Co. as a welder and also taught night school courses in Philadelphia. He then moved on to the Iowa Airplane Co.. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor caused the shutdown of civilian aircraft businesses so he contacted the Air Corps Flight School in Uvalde, Texas, and was hired as a PT-19 expert.
After three years in Texas, he moved to Davenport, Iowa, where he worked on Aeroncas and Navy N3N-3s at a Navy V-12 program. Later, at Fleetwings in Bristol, Pa., he participated in engine buildup for an experimental Navy divebomber and then moved into experimental welding. When this project shut down, he "civilianized" military surplus aircraft at the Old Star Airport in Langhorne, Pa.
Mr. Kacena and his family moved to Newark in 1948 when he began working as a control surface specialist for TWA. When the airline moved to Kansas City, he remained in Delaware where he worked for two years on an atomic power program at the University of Delaware, while also being employed reconditioning Navy blimps at the General Development Corp. in Elkton, Md.
His next endeavor was an airplane shop at Lovett Airport in Elkton that his friends called "Fat Freddie's Fly Factory." He passed the authorized inspector examination for the Federal Aviation Administration and when Lovett Airport was sold, he set up shop as a foreman at Chester County Aviation. When the next opportunity to join the FAA arose, he jumped at it and then spent the next 15 years commuting from Newark to Baltimore Airport.
After retiring from the FAA, Mr. Kacena was given the responsibility of a designated area representative authorized to certify amateur-built and restricted aircraft and to re-issue standard certificates for the FAA.
He became interested in the Experimental Aircraft Association in the 1950s and became a lifetime member. Twice he served as president of Chapter 240 (Wilmington and Toughkenamon, Pa.); he was chief fundraiser for the chapter house/hanger. For many years, Fred taught courses at the EAA Academy at Oshkosh, Wis. He was also a member of the OX-5 group and the QBs.
Mr. Kacena received numerous awards and honors from the aviation community. He was most pleased by the Experimental Aircraft Association Major Achievement Award for Outstanding Service to the EAA and Recreational Aviation presented to him in 2004. This was a fitting end to more than 60 years dedicated to his love of flight. He retired because of ill health in 2004.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Josephine; and a brother, Charles Kacena.
He is survived by a brother, Leo Kacena of Hawthorne, Calif.; two daughters, Janina K. Darling of Cornelius, Ore. and Marianna K. Dyal of Lewes; three grandchildren, Mark W. Preston of East Norriton, Pa., Deborah A. Dignan of Middletown and David A. Darling of Palo Alto, Calif.; and four great-grandchildren, Erin Dignan, Laura Dignan and Kelly Dignan, all of Middletown, and Sean Preston of East Norriton.
A gathering for family and friends will be 2 p.m. Friday in the chapel of Gracelawn Memorial Park, 2220 N. DuPont Parkway, New Castle.
Burial will follow in the adjoining memorial park.
A memorial service will be announced at a future date.
Instead of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Autism Society of America, 7910 Woodmont Ave., Ste. 300, Bethesda, MD 20814.
