Doug Powers has been an active member of the Chicago Executive Airport community since the late ‘60s. He is a retired FAA air traffic controller and manager who has worked at some of the busiest facilities in the country during his 36+ year career. After retiring in 2006, he started an aviation consulting firm specializing in litigation support.

As a young Boy Scout in Arlington Heights, Doug discovered his passion for flying when his scoutmaster took him up for a ride out of the then-Ravenswood Airport. Later, as a first-year student at the University of Illinois, he changed his mind about majoring in electrical engineering when he got wind of the university’s Institute of Aviation, a top-notch aviation program. He completed his Commercial License with Single/Multi-engine land and instrument ratings by the end of his junior year. However, by then the hours needed to work as an airline pilot were increasing faster than his ability to accumulate them.

Fortunately, with many friends in the Champaign airport control tower, he learned of openings on the FAA’s air traffic control team. He passed the Civil Service exam, was hired, and boldly requested a starting position at O’Hare. To his surprise, he was assigned a position at the world’s busiest airport and as part of his on-the-job training, he spent three months at PWK TWR in 1969. Later in his career, he served as the air traffic manager at PWK TWR.

Doug has been personally flying in and out of CEA for many years and appreciates the airport’s challenging landscape, which he believes serves as an excellent training ground for aviation students.

“The PWK airspace is really like flying into a ‘box canyon’,” he says. “Although it’s not as busy as in the past, it is still quite complex, so if you learn how to fly there, you can fly anywhere. It’s a first-class airport.”

In 1995, Doug was encouraged by his grandson to start an Aviation Exploring program at PWK. Explorers, a division of Scouting USA, exposes high school and college-age students to all aspects of aviation careers. Doug started Post 9, with the sponsorship of Windy City Flyers and 15 youth. Today, with twice that number of young people, he still leads the post with the support of CEA and dedicated adults who help by providing meeting space and guest speakers.

“It’s a great way for young adults to be exposed to aviation and really understand if this could be a career for them before they spend a lot of money pursuing it,” he explains.

In 2019, Doug was named to the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame and in 2021 his Aviation Explorers chapter was honored with the ‘Spirit of Flight Award.’

Thank you, Doug, for being a loyal friend of Chicago Executive Airport!