Charles “Chuck” D. Clapper, after being nominated by Ben J. Welch, Jr., has been selected for induction into the Crossville Memorial Airport Hall of Fame in recognition of his extraordinary lifetime contributions to aviation and his significant impact on the Crossville, Tennessee, airport and community.

With more than 60 years of flying experience and over 25,000 logged hours, Clapper has earned the prestigious FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50+ years of accident-free flying and the FAA Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award for 50 years of maintenance excellence. A highly rated pilot holding commercial, multi-engine, jet, helicopter, and seaplane ratings along with 13 type ratings, he is also a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) and Certified Flight Instrument Instructor (CFII).

His career includes operating a 20-year charter and cargo service throughout the Bahamas, owning and managing a large Cessna Flight Center in South Florida with 22 airplanes and two helicopters, and piloting aircraft in feature films such as “Last Plane Out,” “Drop Zone,” and “War and Remembrance.”

After relocating to Crossville in 2007 for a quieter life, Clapper immediately became a driving force at the local airport, serving as a master mechanic and flight instructor, revitalizing the Crossville Flyers club, helping establish the Civil Air Patrol squadron in 2014 (where he served as Chief Pilot, Flight Instructor, Check Pilot, and Safety Officer), assisting in the search for a new Fixed Base Operator, supporting the creation of the Airport Advisory Committee in 2018, and founding the airport’s first member-equity flying club with his own Cessna 172.

Through seven decades of service, teaching hundreds of pilots, and continuing his active involvement in airport events, Chuck Clapper’s historic legacy has profoundly elevated aviation awareness and operations at Crossville Memorial Airport and throughout the Upper Cumberland region, earning him this well-deserved Hall of Fame honor.