When Tom Poberezny assumed the leadership of EAA as its second president in 1989, he brought a new set of skills, a fresh perspective and a determination to expand the EAA culture. As a result of what Tom brought to the table, EAA entered a new era. It matured. Tom’s professionalism slowly transformed the activities and the magazines to a broader mission, one that expanded on the concept of sport aviation, winning respect from pilots, the government, other organizations and the general public. He enlarged the showcase for homebuilts, adding every year to the attractions at Oshkosh. What Paul Poberezny had accomplished in creating the homebuilt movement, Tom took to the next level, imbuing the culture with unimpeachable integrity. He did that by maintaining and fusing Paul’s exacting standards for cleanliness, neatness, family values and safety.
In the mid-70’s, Tom took over the position of Director of the EAA’s annual Fly-In Convention which had relocated from Timmerman Field in Milwaukee to Rockford Airport in Illinois in 1960 and then in 1970, it settled in Oshkosh. Tom not only planned all of the activities and logistics for what was becoming the world’s largest aviation event, but he planned and participated in the afternoon airshows every day. In 1979, Frank Christensen had presented Tom, Gene Soucy, and Charlie Hillard with new hybrid copies of Frank’s Christen Eagle biplane and the Christen Eagles were formed. That changed the texture of airshows. They quickly became the most popular civilian aerobatic team in the world, developing a routine that was a stand out for precision and fast action, peppered with feats that drew gasps and squeals of exhilaration from the huge audiences that came to see them.
