Fred Coblentz Memorial Scholarship

Fred Coblentz was born in Wooster, Ohio on New Year’s Day in 1940. He first fell in love with aviation at the age of 3 when his uncle gave him an airplane and a military hat.

After graduating from Wooster High School, he enlisted in the Navy. Having completed his training, Fred was stationed on the aircraft carrier, the USS Valley Forge. He became an aviation electrician and worked on aircraft, including helicopters.

A few years after getting out of the Navy, Fred got his pilot's license at the Wayne County Airport. But that was not enough; he went on to get his instrument and multi-engine ratings and a commercial certificate. Fred just loved flying.

Fred's love for planes was such that he built a plane: a Bushby Mustang II. He  went on to rebuild several planes, including restoring a North American Yale, a US Army Air Corps and a Canadian Air Force trainer. The plane had been sitting outside, neglected for 50 years, when Fred purchased it.

Fred loved planes and people. He looked forward to flying out for breakfast with his fellow pilots. They would fly to an airport where there were restaurants or fly-ins, enjoying the food, the flying and the fellowship with his friends and fellow pilots.

Talking with other pilots, while hanging out at Wadsworth Airport, the group felt the need for a local Experimental Aircraft Association chapter. Tom Orr applied for the application. Fred and John Lasko finished it and sent it in to EAA in Oshkosh. In July of 1985, EAA Chapter 846 was a reality.

EAA 846 has grown from the first meeting of 5 people to over 120 members. Fred tried to attend all of the meetings and help with the pancake breakfasts, Young Eagles Days, fly-Ins or anything else they had going on. He was very dedicated to Chapter 846. He loved sharing his enthusiasm for all aspects of aviation to Chapter members, but even more so to the next generation of pilots, the young people who attended the Young Eagles events.