Paul Poberezny – Plane & Pilot Magazine | Aviation

Over 800 exhibitors offer everything from T-shirts to college information, jewelry to airplane engines, and, of course, lots of airplanes.

For many, EAA AirVenture has become an annual pilgrimage, making its adage—“come for the airplanes, come back for the people”— ring true. Yet this massive gathering of similar-minded aviation enthusiasts experienced the humblest of beginnings with one man’s dream—and that was Paul Poberezny. 

Born in 1921 in Leavenworth County, Kansas, Poberezny didn’t exactly grow up privileged, starting life in a tar paper shack as the son of Ukrainian immigrants. But like many new arrivals of the time, the American dream was there, and for Poberezny, it started with airplanes.

First it was model aircraft, and in high school, Paul learned to fly and repair a WACO primary glider, and later a Porterfield 35 monoplane. After his high school graduation, Poberezny restored an American Eagle biplane.

Like most men during this era, Poberezny would find himself serving in the military. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entering World War II, he applied and was accepted into the War…