Today I received word that Delaware's world of aviation lost a dear friend. I came to the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) five years ago this past February and had the pleasure of working with our airports manager Frank Shahan. Frank was the Airport Manager at New Castle Airport for 30+ years under both New Castle County and the DRBA. Frank was a handshake deal kind of guy, his word was golden.
When I first started working at the airport he made sure I was introduced to all the FAA people I would need to know to make my projects flow smoothly. Frank made sure I met the tenants, the FAA folks working the tower and all our operations people. Frank and I also enjoyed the occasional breakfast and bull sessions together, He actually tried to talk me into applying for his position when he retired. He had a passion for photography, aviation, Mercedes Benz cars and politics and I'm not sure in which order they should fall.
I'll miss his firm handshake, warm smile, simple humor and his honesty. I still have the last few emails we exchanged, some just plain funny and some asking to attend political functions. I'll hang on to them for awhile and will treasure the last time we had together at a local sports bar as we passed each other to and from dinner. It was to short, now looking back, but always interesting and fun.
Blue Skies Frank, you will be missed but never forgotten, Your passion for aviation was contagious, I wish we would have had some flight time together.
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