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John F. Langer of Denison Selected to Iowa Aviation Museum Hall of Fame
The Iowa Aviation Museum at Greenfield, Iowa, announces John Langer and T. Lowell Weir are the 2021 inductees into the Hall of Fame. Nominations to the Hall of Fame are made by the public and selection is made by an independent judging committee. Neither the Board nor employees of the Iowa Aviation Museum make nominations or selections.
John F. Langer was born at Denison in 1936 and graduated from Denison High School, he studied as an aviation mechanic apprentice before graduating in 1954. At age 17, he earned his private pilot’s license. After serving in the United States Air Force, he worked as a pilot for Gregory Aviation in Omaha, Western Contracting Corporation, and Ling-Temco-Vought Corporation. In 1977, he began working for General Dynamics Corporation. In March 1980, he captained the first corporate flight in the modern era between Egypt (Heca) and Israel (LLGB). In 1996, he became Director of Corporate Flight Operations. remaining in this position until retirement in 2002. He received an award from the National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) Flying Safety Awards program in recognition of 3,849,366 miles as pilot in command in 1983 and another NBAA Safety Award for 19,000 hours as pilot in command in 2001. He holds numerous aeronautical licenses and ratings, has logged more than 24,000 hours of accident and violation-free flight time and piloted 111 individual aircraft types. He currently resides in Denison.
Lowell Weir was born at Bedford in 1938. At age 15, Lowell took his first flying lesson on Christmas Day, sparking a lifelong passion for aviation. After graduating from Bedford High School in 1956 and obtaining his pilot license, became a flight instructor, a charter pilot, and served seven years in the Air National Guard. In 1961, Lowell attended training and did crop dusting in Texas, North Dakota and Shenandoah, IA. He attended Drake University for two years before moving to Ames and graduating from Iowa State University in 1969 with a degree in Engineering Operations. Lowell served as Chief Flight Instructor and pilot for ISU, flying administrators and Cyclone athletic teams around the nation. Lowell owned and operated Wings Over Iowa at Boone for 17 years. He also worked three years as engineer and pilot at Quinn Wire and Iron in Boone. In the late 1980’s, he became Chief Pilot, Check Airman, and Director of Operations at Elliott Aviation in Des Moines. Later he was corporate pilot for Gordon Management and TMC until 2006. He taught hundreds of people to fly, did thousands of check rides, and was a Designated Pilot Examiner. With over 30,000 hours of flight time in 53 years of flying, T. Lowell Weir passed April 16, 2011.
NOTE: For more information or pictures, contact the Iowa Aviation Museum at 641-343-7184 or email us at aviation@iowatelecom.net
