The Federal Aviation
Administration recently awarded Cygnet-resident Frank Coulter with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award
for working as an aviation mechanic for 55 years, and the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for his
exemplary service and devotion to aviation safety for 56 years.His wife, Iola Coulter, also received an
award as thanks for her devotion to her husband and her support during Frank’s aviation career. The two
proudly display the plaques on their wall.The Coulters still own the plane Frank’s father bought in
1953."I’ve rebuilt it twice, recovered it and overhauled the engine. I’m a mechanic, I keep it
working," he said, chuckling. Coulter remembers when his father would let him pilot the plane so he
wouldn’t feel sick.He took his first airplane ride in 1952, sitting between his father’s legs in a side by
side two-place plane. A few months later, his father bought the 1946 Aeronca Champion plane, model number
7AC, for $600.Flight instructor Nick Parish, of Southern Airways in Boardman, administered Coulter’s flight
test in 1957. "I was 19 when I got my private rating and 14 when my dad bought the Champion," he
said.Coulter joined the Air Force in 1958 as a mechanic, having decided "if I wanted to own an
airplane, I better learn how to fix them."After his honorable discharge from the Air Force in 1962,
Coulter earned his bachelor’s in agricultural dducation and a master’s in education. In 1978 he stopped
teaching and became a full-time aircraft mechanic. The next year, he received his inspection authorization
from the FAA."I have done as many as 65 annual inspections in a year, and still do a dozen of them each
year."Ronald Coleman of BGSU said, "Many of us depend on him for our flight reviews, additional
training, and maintenance."Along with the Master Mechanic and Master Pilot Awards, the FAA has given
Coulter seven commercial ratings, seven CFI ratings, and Airframe and Power Plant Mechanic ratings.Coulter
retired from managing the Wood County airport in 2003, but continues to take weekly flights in his plane.
Coulter has flown helicopters, the Aeronca, T-34’s, Tri-Champs, a Cessna 172 Supercub, Lear jets, DC-3’s, a
Sanyo Blimp and a Comanche 250. He has earned Gyroplane and Single Engine Seaplane ratings.Coulter has sold
nearly 10,000 helicopter rides in the decade he owned a Bell 47 helicopter. "I currently have more than
7,856 hours of flight time."He has flown from New Jersey to California, from New Mexico to Ontario, and
through the five provinces of Canada to Alaska.He still teaches a handful of students each year to fly and
stores his Aeronca Champion at his private air strip near Cygnet.Coulter’s son, Lance, a fellow pilot, wrote
in one of Frank’s numerous recommendation letters for the FAA awards that his father "taught me to fly
and is also passing the love and ability to fly on to my two boys. He has trained countless people to fly
and has shared his passion for flying with them."Coleman added that he is "always impressed with
Frank Coulter’s mastery of crosswind landings … he has the touch of a natural pilot."