This piece originally ran in the December 2023 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.

Cliff Chetwin, EAA Lifetime 429238, is a retired aviation program manager for the National Park Service and continues to educate others and spread The Spirit of Aviation through volunteerism.

Cliff studied at the College of Forestry at Syracuse in New York, which led to his career in the national parks. Inspired by his colleagues who were learning to fly, he scraped together what he could from his ranger paychecks and started his aviation journey in 1977. Cliff flew recreationally for many years before his call to action came — mountain lions. At the time, he was chief ranger for Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, and when livestock from surrounding communities started to go missing, a population study on mountain lions was ordered. Instead of paying a local FBO to do the aerial work, Cliff decided to do it himself.

Following this, Cliff worked some years focused on the wildland fire program until he was asked to be the first regional aviation manager in national park history. “I was the go-to person for all of the Western national parks if they needed professional aviation assistance in programs. … I got to fly to all the places most people only dream of, these magnificent national parks. And to not only fly to them but assist the parks themselves using aviation as a tool.”

Cliff had always wanted to come to Oshkosh, but he struggled to step away from his duties since the convention takes place during peak fire season. In 1993, motivated by political rumbles in the aviation community about noise control over national parks, first-time-Oshkosh-attendee Cliff approached Tom Poberezny and offered to hold a forum discussing the National Park Service’s relationship with general aviation. Tom not only found him a stage but also introduced Cliff to other domestic and foreign government agencies. One thing led to another, and Cliff helped form the International Federal Partnership, which just had its 29th year of being hosted at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in the International Federal Pavilion.

Cliff retired from the parks in 2006 and currently is the volunteer chairman of the International Federal Pavilion, supports EAA’s advocacy team with hosting government officials during the convention, and provides youths with Young Eagles flights. Cliff explained he’s been flying with his daughter since she was just 6 weeks old, and later, she was a helping-hand during Young Eagles flights. “One of the things I used to do when my daughter was younger is I would have her show [other Young Eagles] how to preflight the aircraft. It was a hoot watching a 9-year-old girl walk these boys around and know more about an airplane than they knew. And to the girls watching, a girl their age could do this and do it successfully. I loved doing that. … I love watching them light up.”

Cliff was awarded the Volunteer of the Year award during AirVenture 2023 for his years of dedication. “It’s a chance to give back, and with luck, influence the future of my daughter as a student pilot. There’ll never be as much freedom in aviation as I had starting out. … I’d like to do what I can to keep what we have for general aviation.”

Volunteers make EAA AirVenture Oshkosh — and just about everything else EAA does — possible. This space in EAA Sport Aviation is dedicated to thanking and shining the spotlight on volunteers from the community. Sadly, it cannot capture all of the thousands of volunteers who give so much to the community every year. So, next time you see a volunteer at AirVenture or elsewhere, however they are pitching in to make EAA better, be sure to thank them for it. It’s the least we can do. Do you know a volunteer you’d like to nominate for Volunteer Spotlight? Visit EAA.org/Submissions.