One of the toughest jobs at any airport is performing towing and recovery work after an aircraft incident or runway miscalculation. Special skills are required to deal with costly airplanes and infrastructure. Arguably, the second most difficult job at an airport is performing runway, airport, and aircraft maintenance work at any time of day — or in any kind of weather.

Both of these roles are typically filled at the Chicago Executive Airport (CEA) by Fries Automotive of Prospect Heights, founded by Paul and Karen Fries more than 50 years ago.

“Paul is our Guardian Angel who ensures this airport successfully recovers from aircraft incidents quickly and gets his team to return this airport back to operational status promptly,” explains Andrew Wolanik, Director of Operations and Maintenance, CEA. “Not to mention he has done tremendous maintenance work on our snow removal and other vehicles over the years. He has the experience to get us through the toughest of problems.”

Fries caught the aviation bug as a toddler visiting his dad while he worked as an instructor at Peter O. Knight airport in Tampa, FL. He also learned about how planes worked from his grandpa, an aviation engineer. Following high school, Fries was drafted by the U.S. Army and spent a tour of duty in Vietnam where he served in an armor unit.

Once home in Illinois, he worked in automotive equipment sales and eventually purchased two Shell franchises. In 1976, he achieved his pilot’s license and began his fascination with Stearman biplanes, widely used as training aircraft during World War II. Officially called the Boeing Model 75, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 Stearman biplanes were built and more than 1,000 are still flying today, many used for crop dusting, aviation aerobatic shows, or personal use flying.

Fries purchased his first Stearman in 1985 followed by a Super Stearman in 1995. His Stearman was frequently seen at the CEA when it was parked just across the street from Fries Automotive.

At the CEA, Fries has a reputation as an ‘all-around good guy’ and is the person the airport calls in a time of need. He has volunteered there over the years, including performing flyovers at Run the Runway events. Today, he splits his time between Wisconsin and Illinois, and serves as co-pilot to his son Paul, who now runs the business’ day to day operations.

“I’ve been honored to be affiliated with the CEA,” Fries says. “It has an excellent reputation for corporate flying and has an exceptionally talented crew. Its snow removal equipment and winter operations are some of the best I’ve ever seen.”

Thank you, Paul for all you do for Chicago Executive Airport!