George Karamitis flew as a captain for Trans World Airline for 33 years.
George Karamitis regularly flies his Quicksilver Sprint from Avon Park Executive Airport.
Published: January 15, 2013
Updated: January 15, 2013 - 10:58 AM
AVON PARK -- Safe flying over a period of years is a feat in itself, but to do it for 50 years? That is something not everyone can accomplish.
George Karamitis, of Avon Park, will receive the Federal Aviation Administration's Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award at this year's U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring.
Mark Laughtery, FAA safety team manager from the Orlando (Florida) Flight Standards District Office, will make the presentation at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award recognizes pilots who have demonstrated professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise by maintaining safe operations for 50 or more years. To qualify for the award, recipients must have no citations, incidents or accidents on their record.
A certificate and a lapel pin are awarded and recipients are recognized in FAA's Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award Roll of Honor located online at www.faasafety.gov/content/MasterPilot/RecipientList.aspx.
Karamitis is a Wisconsin native, and his roots in aviation go back to Oshkosh, Wis., now home of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and the world's largest recreational aviation fly-in held annually in late July every summer.
When Karamitis, now 71, was just 8 years old, he started accompanying his mother and aunts to Oshkosh for their monthly shopping trip. He would spend the time sitting alongside the white board fence at the edge of the airport and watch airplanes taxiing and flying.
After some months of doing this, one of the pilots (he believes it was famed air racer and aircraft designer Steve Wittman, for whom the Oshkosh airport is now named) walked over to him and offered him a ride; thus Karamitis got his first ride in a J-3 Cub.
After high school, Karamitis joined the Navy. After basic training he was assigned as a radar operator on a Super Constellation based near Argentia, Newfoundland. He logged 1,800 hours flying in the Super Connie as part of an early warning squadron.
While there, he met a fellow Wisconsinite, Gene Lind, and together they organized a Navy flying club on the base. He went on to earn his private pilot certificate in July 1962 through another flying club while stationed at McGuire Air Force Base near Trenton, New Jersey.
After leaving the Navy, Karamitis returned to Wisconsin and enrolled in college at Wisconsin State University-Oshkosh (now the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh) with the goal of becoming airline pilot.
There, he was instrumental in organizing a flying club at the university and during his four years he logged more than 325 hours. After graduating, Karamitis went to graduate school at Ohio State University and joined the flight program, where he earned his commercial and flight instructor ratings and flew charter flights in DC-3s, Twin Beeches, and Aztecs.
In January 1968, Karamitis was hired by Trans World Airlines (TWA), and he flew national and international routes for the airline for 33 years. He retired from TWA in 2001.
While working for the airlines, Karamitis was also actively involved in flying general aviation (GA) aircraft, including flight instructing. He purchased his first airplane in 1968 and has never been without an airplane since, owning 12 different aircraft over the years, including six ultralight-like aircraft.
"I just love to fly around by myself or with a friend and enjoy the scenery and peace and serenity of flying," Karamitis said.
He's logged more than 7,000 hours as instructor and still teaches students in a Tecnam P92 with Lockwood Aviation, based at Sebring Regional Airport.
As for how many total hours he's logged as pilot in command, Karamitis isn't sure. "I've logged my private and sport pilot personal time and my instructor time, but I have no idea how many hours I flew with TWA; maybe 10-12,000 hours. Honestly, I can tell you," he said.
In 2004, after experiencing some health issues, Karamitis elected to fly as a sport pilot, which allows a pilot to certify his medical fitness for flight by holding a valid state driver's license. Sport pilots can fly during daylight hours when weather conditions are good.
When the FAA advised Karamitis that he qualified for the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, it asked him where he'd like to receive the award.
"I immediately answered, 'At the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring; I love this fly-in,'" he said.
Karamitis said he's humbled to receive this honor. "But, I didn't get here by myself. I owe a debt of gratitude to all the instructors I've every flown with; I learned something from every one of them. I also learned from my fellow captains and co-pilots; you don't fly without incident for that many years with a good supporting cast," he said.
"You can't drive a car for 50 years without getting a ticket or having a fender bender, though, granted you drive more hours than you fly, but I plan to keep flying as long as I can," Karamitis said.
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