Vernon “Bobby” Cox, EAA 91424, is known by friends and family as a craftsman, aviator, and a man of great accomplishment. During his life he has constructed his own airport, scratchbuilt an airplane of his own design, the Cox Hawk, completed a Super Cub kit build, finished another builder’s single-place S1C Pitts Special, and rebuilt a J-3 Cub. In his 14,000 hours of logged flight, Bobby has made 16 cross-countries to Alaska alone, and many more to California, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, and other states. His international flights include destinations others dream about, including Canada, the Caribbean, South America, and Europe. To honor his benevolence and accomplishments, EAA Chapter 1114 of Apex, North Carolina, is awarding Bobby with the chapter’s first lifetime achievement award.
Many of Bobby’s achievements closely align with the grassroots, homebuilding heritage of EAA, one of which is building the Cox Hawk, an airplane of his own design. Bobby began building the Cox Hawk on January 15, 1993, cutting Sitka spruce for his wing ribs and spar stock. An observer would find Bobby spending hours selecting just the right wood pieces by inspection and bending each piece. His love affair with wood provided him with unique skill and intuition. It took him a little more than two years to complete the aircraft, an aerobatic biplane powered by a Lycoming AEIO-540. It made its first flight on January 12, 1995.
The unique airplane came together with the help of friends, including Dan Rihn, EAA Lifetime 16462, of the Rihn One Design, who helped with the layout of the fuselage frame. The wings were built up using metal fittings from the Ultimate wings he used on a previous Pitts project. Although from a distance the airplane, especially with its similar red and white paint scheme, may look like a Pitts, up close you can see more of the details that make the Cox Hawk unique.
One unique detail on the airplane is the four hand-painted wingtips done by John Snipes, featuring four different landscapes in the outline of a hawk, each representing a place Bobby has visited. Bobby’s hard work was honored at EAA Oshkosh 1995 with the coveted plansbuilt Grand Champion Lindy Award, at the SUN ’n FUN International Fly-in and Expo with the 1995 plansbuilt grand champion award, and was featured in the June 1995 issue of EAA Sport Aviation. It now resides in the North Carolina Aviation Museum Hall of Fame.
Bobby also built Cox Airport (NC81) in just two months in 1976, during some of the heydays of homebuilt activity. It has been a hub of aviation and goodwill ever since. Bobby started IAC Chapter 19 at Cox Airport in 1982, and later founded EAA Chapter 1114 with five other local pilots. In the late ’90s Bobby built a second-floor clubhouse, complete with a kitchen and space for nearly 100 people, free for the EAA chapter, and it moved into the building on November 18, 2000. Until recently, when land taxes skyrocketed, Bobby paid for all expenses; now a small annual rental fee exists.
“When Bobby was looking for land to build on, I know he specified that it had to be appropriate for a runway and a pond,” said his wife, Rosalyn Cox. “Today he is just as adamant about there always being an airport there. Bobby loves to fly. He loves to share what he has — the runway— with others. … He wants to encourage others in their love of flying. He has told me many times about the high quality of fellow pilots that he has met during his lifetime. I believe that his love of people and airplanes and his desire to encourage others is why he wanted the EAA chapter here.”
Current Chapter 1114 Vice President Steele Scott, EAA 1038211, said Bobby — who is one of the chapter’s six founders — has been the chapter’s host, champion, father, and ambassador.
“He provided the place and provides the spirit,” Steele said.
Bobby’s accomplishments have not just been limited to his own building endeavors. A cabinetmaker and craftsman by trade, he also inspired and assisted many chapter members in their aircraft projects.
“He’s helped lots of people when they’re building,” Steele said. “We call him the wood whisperer. … He’s helped people in the chapter in their build projects and is just an inspiring host, if you will. Chapter members can see his builds and he can see theirs. People ask him for advice all the time.”
Bobby has been to nearly every single one of the chapter’s renowned monthly pancake breakfasts over the past approximately 20 years, with only his flights to other lands and venues keeping him away. In addition to never missing a SUN ’n FUN event, in 2018, he will fly himself, at 88 years old, to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh for the 48th consecutive year. This year Bobby will be in his homebuilt Super Cub.
On May 19, Chapter 1114 held a celebration and thank you picnic for Bobby and presented him with his lifetime achievement award, along with tributes written by various family members and friends. Numerous additional awards were also given to the other chapter founders, past chapter officers, and volunteers for their contributions to the chapter’s success. The Bandit Flight Team was planned to commemorate Bobby with a special flyover choreographed to God Bless the USA, and honor chapter members who have gone west with a missing man formation timed to Amazing Grace, but unfortunately was grounded with low ceilings and continuous rain.