Arthur Gorman
F-84 Pilot, DuPont Aircraft Fleet Manager, Command Pilot for DANG, Instructor for Flight Safety
Arthur Gorman was always fascinated by aviation. He first soloed and gained his Private Pilot’s License in 1951, at the age of 20. He joined the Air Force Pilot Training program as a cadet in 1952, with 75 flight hours accumulated. He undertook his Pilot Training in a range of aircraft including T-6, T-28, T-33 and F-84 and on completion was assigned to the Strategic Fighter Squadron, Bangor, ME flying F-84’s. While there, further training included the delivery of tactical nuclear weapons.
Selected as a potential pilot for the CIA’s U-2 spy plane, Art resigned his commission in the Air Force. Unfortunately his training exposed a previously undetected medical issue which prevented Art from piloting the U-2.
Art’s aviation contribution and career continued however as a First Officer for TWA, flying Constellations trans-Atlantic, and to the Asia region. In 1956 he opted to continue his education, graduating from University of Delaware in 1958; shortly after he married Barbara, his wife of 58 years.
Delaware-based Atlantic Aviation required Art’s knowledge and experience and he joined them in 1958 as a Beechcraft salesman, charter pilot and aircraft demonstrator. Atlantic was also providing flight services to DuPont at this time, and Art became the DuPont Aircraft Fleet Manager.
Art also joined the Delaware National Guard at this time, flying as Command Pilot in F-86H, C-97G and C-130’s, with missions to southeast Asia and to Vietnam, achieving the rank of Lt Colonel. Art retired from the DANG in 1978.
Art continued with the expanded aircraft fleet of DuPont, retiring from DuPont in 1991 and joining Flight Safety as an instructor on the Fokker 100 and the Challenger 604. He retired from Flight Safety in 2005, at the age of 75. In September 2011, reflecting on his contribution to aviation over a 50 year career that included 8,400 hours of accident-free flying, Art was awarded the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.
