After 10,000 flying hours on the CH-47 Chinook, and 45 years of combined federal service, retired Warrant Officer Charles Mineo landed his helicopter at Knox Army Heliport for the last time.
He guided the aircraft across the tarmac and under two streams of water from the installation's fire trucks as a part of the retirement ceremony. His son, Lt. Robert Mineo, was on board for a final ride with his dad.
Mineo started his career in the Air Force as a survival instructor but an encounter with Army Huey pilots motivated him to change branches of service and fly helicopters. The Army stationed him in Germany, Korea, and elsewhere as well as a deployment for Operation Desert Storm. He retired as a Chief Warrant Officer 4, but got right back to work as a civilian instructor pilot at flight school.
Mineo is known for his unconventional and unorthodox training methods, belief that every student has the potential to learn and succeed and that each student learns in a different manner.
"People call me a little unorthodox with some things, and I hate that word, but it’s kind of a Montessori thing, we all have a way that we have to learn," Mineo explained.
One story involves a student pilot who was unable to practice autorotations in the helicopter. Mineo intentionally stalled the engine and pretended not to be very good at autorotation himself, which quickly motivated the student pilot to conduct the maneuver himself.
"He greased that sucker on. That young man did autos that were A maneuvers all day long," Mineo said. "I learned a big lesson about myself that day. When my student feels a shared responsibility in the outcome, you get success. I laid his grade folder on his platoon leader’s desk and said, ‘This guy’s an A student.’"
Mineo's dedication to coaching, teaching, and mentoring flight students for so many years has made him something of a legend at flight school, certainly a well-known and respected figure in the CH-47 community.
"When you believe in people it is a contagious and self-perpetuating condition. It’s got to be that way," Mineo said.
