By Jim Roberts.
Jeff Coffey spent 30 years as an air traffic controller, including 15 years working SUN ’n FUN, and nine tours wearing the distinctive pink shirt of an EAA AirVenture Oshkosh controller. Now retired from the FAA, in 2023 Jeff traded in his pink shirt for a colorful Hawaiian Aloha shirt, the uniform of the day at Tiki Tower.
Never heard of Tiki Tower? Maybe that’s because, as Bob Kamm put it, “Tiki Tower is not a location, it’s a state of mind.” Bob should know. When he reported for work at the North Tower in 2021 and introduced himself as “Aloha Bob,” another controller, Mike Eisele asked, “Can I be Mahalo Mike?” And Tiki Tower was born, along with the traditions of wearing the Hawaiian shirt uniform, presenting visitors with a souvenir lei, and generally embracing the Aloha spirit.
During the daily air show, you can find Jeff Coffey, Aloha Bob, and Mahalo Mike working traffic at the North Tower. The operation sits atop the EAA Warbirds flightline operations building, and as Jeff noted, “When you’ve found an orange and white building with yellow luau shirts on top of it, you’ve probably found the right place.” Scott Strader and Jim Hovic round out the cast of characters, and all are volunteers.
From their perch high above warbird country, the crew controls traffic on Runway 9-27. While the air boss runs the show from his station…
Source inspire.eaa.org
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