Cornelius Coffey
was born in 1903 and had his first airplane ride in 1919.
He graduated from an automotive engineering school in
1925 and an aviation mechanics school in Chicago, Illinois,
in 1931. He co-organized the Challenger Air Pilots Association
with John Robinson to promote flying among blacks in the
Chicago area, built an airport in Robbins, Illinois, and
opened an aeronautics school. In 1937 he earned his transport
license and opened the Coffey School of Aeronautics. In
1939 the African-American communities in Chicago and Washington,
D.C. successfully lobbied to have Coffey's school included
in the CPT Program; Coffey trained black pilots and flight
instructors throughout World War II. After the war, Coffey
joined the Chicago Board of Education and established
an aircraft mechanics training and licensing program in
the city's high schools. Coffey retired in 1969 and has
since acted as a licensed mechanic examiner and aircraft
inspector. |