A life immersed in aviation

Kate Tiffany of Spring Valley, Ohio, has her mind, heart, and hands immersed in aviation. With an impish twinkle in her dark brown eyes, she unabashedly blazes her own creative pathway to inspire and educate others regarding myriad facets of aviation. 

Long ago, she nurtured bright hopes of learning to fly as soon as her children were grown. Then she met an unforgettable character — an aviator and airplane restorer who had a novel approach to the concept of a first date. 

“Jack Tiffany showed up at my house with a Monocoupe door and an iron! He already knew I liked to sew,” Kate fondly recalls, “so he showed me how to do airplane fabric work. I really enjoyed it, and that’s how I got hooked on working on airplanes!”

It wasn’t long until Kate took the plunge and married Jack. From 1989 on, she’s been hands-on with award-winning restorations including three antique parasol-wing Davis aircraft, a 1930 KR-21 biplane, a 1930 Waco INF, a clip-wing Cub, a 1948 Vagabond, a 1932 Pitcairn PA-18 autogiro, and a Fleet 10D that is in the Venezuelan Air Force Museum. 

“All the while, I had two kids growing up and I was teaching social studies full time in a vocational school. I had the summers off, and after learning how to do fabric and paint, I painted the final coat of orange on a Davis’ wing — that was exciting! Jack showed me how to paint the N-numbers, and do pin-striping, which was really fun,” smiles Kate. “I used a brand new HVLP paint gun, because that was my graduation gift when I earned my Master’s Degree at the University of Dayton.”

Aspiring to her dream, Kate took flying lessons in an 85-hp Piper Cub she purchased in the mid-1990s.

“I logged about 40 hours in it. I love that rush you get from flying, but my Type 1 diabetes was a medical issue. So I decided I could stay on the ground and be happy working on airplanes. My son, Nick, took lessons in my Cub when he was about 17, and it’s now owned by Red Stewart Airfield, where it’s still flying.”

Kate was delighted to volunteer as a Classic Aircraft Judge at AirVenture in 1993, 1994, and 1995. That opportunity was instigated by Jack.

“I guess he thought I was bored, so he said, ‘let’s do something to keep you busy,’ So he just dropped me off on their doorstep and said, ‘Kate would be a good judge!’ I loved it,” she says. “It was fun looking at metal aircraft that weren’t taildraggers — I thought they were modern! It was a good experience and gave me more appreciation for all types of restorations.” 

Birthplace of Aviation 

As an educator, Kate exudes a zestful creativity while developing enterprising methods for entwining aviation in her lesson plans. One such project entailed researching the historical contributions of Ohioans to aviation and aerospace.

“The purpose was having students learn to work with our local legislators and do the research to propose a resolution to have the week of Dec. 17th declared as Ohio Aviation and Aerospace History Education Week,” explains Kate. “Marilyn Reid, a Ohio General Assembly Representative, worked with us on the resolution. Senator Kearns brought the students’ proposal to the 121st General Assembly of Ohio in 1995, when they just happened to be discussing the idea of putting ‘Birthplace of Aviation’ on the Ohio license plate. But they thought that was too much of a focus on Dayton and not the whole state, until they read the students’ research. I was told that the resolution got piggybacked on the bill to have ‘Birthplace of Aviation’ on the license plate.” 

Senate Resolution No. 2455 was adopted by the Ohio Senate Feb. 20, 1996, and states, in part:  

“WHEREAS, The Buckeye State is often viewed as the birthplace of aviation, thanks to the magnificent work of Ohioans Orville and Wilbur Wright. … Ohio Aviation and Aerospace History Education Week pays homage to those whose brave, productive efforts have contributed significantly to innovations and advances in America’s aerospace pursuits. …

WHEREAS, Ohio’s connection with aviation and aerospace extends far beyond the Wright Brothers. Once manufactured in Troy, Ohio, Waco aircraft figured prominently in the Allied victory in World War II, and Aeronca and Taylorcraft airplanes, formerly built in Cincinnati, Middletown, and Alliance, continue to be the aircraft of choice for classic airplane enthusiasts. … and astronaut John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth. Proportionately, more astronauts hail from Ohio than from any other state, and Neil Armstrong, who acquired global renown as the very first person to set foot on the moon, is included in that number…

United States History through Aviation 

When Kate received a scholarship to learn how to teach online, she created a course on United States History through Aviation. After teaching it online for three years, she started teaching it in her Greene County Career Center (GCCC) classroom as well.

“The students get a social studies credit for the course, and of course we visit the National Air Force Museum in Dayton. The kids get to study all types of airplanes and there’s so much aviation stuff going on around here that the kids really like it.”

Kate assigned the students a final hands-on project of creating their own airplane model.

“The welders did an awesome job, and they let me keep the Spad and SR-71 models they made. A digital media student made a beautiful Zero out of pa-pier-mâché, and the carpentry students made wood planes.” 

American Aviation Abroad

Six years ago, Kate received a scholarship sponsored by Northrop-Grumman to teach a summer camp for junior high students under the auspices of the American Air Museum in England.

“There were five teachers from the United States and five from the United Kingdom who received this scholarship, and we taught for three weeks on the grounds of beautiful Cambridge University.”

“I had my students research aviators through a huge, interactive World War II United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) database on the American Air Museum website,” recalls Kate. “People can add to that database by uploading their own memories and photos. The aviation-related museums I visited in England are so people-oriented regarding history, and that’s great!”

Kate has not only been a scholarship recipient, she’s also been chairperson of the Lewis A. Jackson Scholarship Committee at the Lewis A. Jackson Greene County Regional Airport for six years.

“Lewis A. Jackson was an educator and he also taught Tuskegee Airmen how to fly. Every year we offer a $1,500 scholarship to youth to help pay for flight lessons or ground school. The intent is to expose people to aviation that would normally not have that exposure, and a lot of times the recipients wind up getting jobs at the airport. Last year a GCCC student got the scholarship and said, ‘I’m going to solo within the first year’ — and he did!” 

Never one to stay idle, Kate developed an inkling of her next goal: Obtaining her mechanic certificate.

“I listed 3,450 hours of experience I had during the 20 years I’d worked on  projects, got two letters of recommendation, and gathered pictures of me working on the aircraft,” she says.

Kate bundled up that documentation, along with her certificate of completion for a 72-hour ARC/MIG/TIG welding course at GCCC, and took it to the Cincinnati FSDO. With her work experience approved, she went to Nashville, Tennessee, and enrolled in Baker’s School of Aeronautics’ Aviation Mechanic’s course.

After completing the course, she received her recommendation to take the FAA’s exam. Kate passed the written and practical, and with tears of happiness glistening in her eyes, received her Mechanic Certificate with an Airframe rating in June 2017. 

Eager to Teach

Despite the pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding in-person classes, Kate’s excitement about the brand new, multi-million dollar GCCC campus in Xenia is palpable.

“There will be a drone program and an IT program for people who want to go into aero-engineering,” shares Kate, “and the Aviation Maintenance Technician program allows kids to earn their FAA General and Airframe certification. They have a brand new hangar at the Lewis A. Jackson Airport. I hope young women will be attracted to these aviation programs. GCCC is a career tech school with lots of other programs as well.”

Wings for the Future

Throughout her various aviation-related endeavors, Kate has generated an ebullient influence on those with whom she’s shared her contagious passion. A petite dynamo, she is on the verge of retirement from teaching, and already has a ground-up restoration project well underway that is near and dear to her heart. It’s the Piper Cub that Jack bought about a year before he passed away in 2012. Once completed, it will be a tangible culmination of her personal passion for aviation.

Now that there are more FAA medical options, Kate might also decide to obtain her pilot certificate. 

“I want to be comfortable with the Cub in the air, and know that everything is airworthy. Both wings have new ribs and leading edges and the spars and wingtip bows have been varnished. The wings are ready for inspection and fabric covering, and I’ve ordered a new fuselage,” details Kate, reflecting, “At this point in my life, I really want to get my Cub done! I feel like I’m not complete unless I can do that, and I hope my son and my granddaughter will be flying it well into the future!”