With 82 years and some 28-thousand flight hours under his belt, Mel Matthews has seen plenty of changes in the world of aviation, as well as Page Field and Southwest Florida.

His inspiration to fly came at age five when Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. But it wasn't until he joined the Army Air Corp at 21 that he actually earned his wings in a Stearman bi-plane while stationed in Arcadia, Florida (he soloed 16 years to the day of Lindbergh's own historic solo flight). His military service would eventually include a tour of duty over Europe piloting some 50 missions in B-24s. His worst recollection of the war was limping back to Italy from a bombing run in a bullet-riddled aircraft with only two of four engines operational. "The crew was throwing out anything not bolted down to lighten the aircraft just so we could maintain altitude over the mountains below." Mel remembers some discussion among the crew about bailing out, "I told them that as long as she was flying, I was sticking it out. And they did, too." Good thing, because after landing he discovered that his parachute behind his seat had been shredded by enemy fire.

Mel's first exposure to Fort Myers was in 1944 while serving as a reservist at Buckingham Field. He recalls, "My wife and I really liked the area and knew we'd come back here someday." When the war finally ended, he found himself back in his native North Carolina with a budding career as a flight instructor teaching hundreds of returning soldiers to fly on the GI Bill. It was a career that would serve him well and keep him actively flying for the next 45 years!

The Matthews returned to Fort Myers in 1957 and Mel became a permanent fixture around Page Field while working for a number of charter operators over the years, including Gulf Airways and Fort Myers Airways. In addition to giving flight instruction, Mel's multiple ratings (single engine, multi-engine, seaplane, commercial, and CFI I&II) gave him the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of aviation missions, including flying charters to Sanibel, Captiva and Gasparilla islands in sea planes, sight-seeing tours, patrolling powerlines over south Florida, conducting airborne counts of manatees, alligators, and woodstorks for the Federal Department of the Interior and even frost prevention for orange growers during hard freezes. But one of the most rewarding jobs was flying for the Florida Forestry Service as a fire spotter from 1964 until 1975. "I used to fly 7 days a week during the peak fire season from January through June. Once over a fire, I became the Fire Boss telling fire fighters on the ground where to go or leading the airborne water tankers to their drop zones."

When asked about the changes he has seen on the aviation front, Mel says that basically piston powered aircraft are piston powered aircraft and not much has changed in the past 40 years. But modern advances in GPS and weather detection equipment are truly impressive. And what about the changes he's seen around Southwest Florida? Mel is quick to mention his concern about future demands upon water and roads, and remembers a time when... "You could go lay down in either of Tamiami Trail's two lanes, take a nap and not worry about getting hit because you might not see a car for a whole hour!"

Although Mel doesn't fly himself any longer, he does enjoy riding shotgun on occasion. And considering the number of hours he has spent instructing from that right seat, it's a safe bet you're going to learn a thing or two.