INSPIRES CADETS

In October 1944, a Knoxville newspaper ad
offered flying lessons. With a husband stationed
at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa,
Fla., and a laundry business to run, Evelyn
Bryan Johnson wanted a respite
from constant work. She found
it in a Piper Cub.
Flying was, as she often remarked,
“love at first flight.” Johnson went on to
earn a pilot's license, a commercial
license and instructor's credentials. She
was the first woman in Tennessee to
receive a Civil Aeronautics Administration
examiner rating, and she later
became the top national pilot examiner
for them.
A chain of serendipitous events led to Johnson's
becoming sole owner of a flight instruction school in
Morristown, Tenn. Her dedication, care and the “tough
love” she gave her fledgling pilots as they took to the
skies was legendary. A student dubbed her “Mama
Bird” — an apt title that was adopted by George
Prince, who wrote her biography.
Joining CAP on Dec. 28, 1949, Johnson was awarded
the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1968. Her deep
passion for flying inspired cadets of the Morristown
Cadet Squadron. During her long affiliation with CAP,
she participated in numerous search and rescue missions,
taught hundreds of cadets to fly and promoted
flying through personal appearances and speeches. In
May 2005, CAP presented her with a 50-Year Member
Award and a life membership.
Johnson won numerous awards for flying and flight
instruction. She also participated in 12 Powder Puff
Derbies. A member of the prestigious Ninety-Nines
since 1947, she was chosen by the organization as one
of the 100 most influential women in the country. As
the 20th woman in the U.S. to earn a helicopter pilot's
license, she was also a member of the
elite “Whirly Girls” organization and certified
as a helicopter flight instructor,
though she did not particularly like flying
helicopters.
In spite of having to make several
emergency landings over the years, Johnson
never scratched any of the planes she
flew. As for skydiving or even parachute
jumping, her straightforward remark
was, “Why should I want to jump out of
a perfectly good airplane?”
She encouraged everyone she met to learn to fly.
One of her favorite comments is, “Time flies, why
don't you?”
Johnson has been manager of the Moore Murrell
Municipal Airport in Morristown, Tenn., since it was
first organized in 1955. In the course of a TV interview
a few years ago, she was asked when she was retiring.
“When I get old enough — I am only 95,” she replied.
Johnson holds the Guinness Book of World Records
accolade for logging more flying hours than any
woman on earth (60,000-plus).
Recently, a horrendous car accident necessitated the
amputation of Johnson’s left leg. At present, she is
recovering in a nursing home near Knoxville, Tenn.
Though “Mama Bird” has returned to the nest for
now, her courageous spirit still soars.
If you would like to send Evelyn Johnson a card, the
address is P.O. Box 666, Jefferson City, TN 37760. ▲
‘Mama Bird’
Lt. Col. Evelyn Bryan Johnson
By Janet Adams
Civil Air Patrol Volunteer 32 November-December 2006