Eddie Mehlin used the money from his newspaper route to pay for his flying lessons. He lied about his age, ditched school to take the classes and soloed at age 13.
Mehlin, who died April 17 at 84, was still flying when he became ill in February. He died at a hospice in Centennial from the effects of a stroke.
Mehlin’s parents, Joe and Helen Mehlin, didn’t know what their son was up to until the school notified them he was skipping classes.
“They were petrified of planes,” said Mehlin’s daughter Shawn Coble of Houston, and would never have given their permission for the lessons.
By age 18, Mehlin was a flight instructor and became the youngest instructor in the Navy V-5 programs, his daughter said.
He was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in 1985. By that time he had flown 40,000 hours on 351 types of aircraft.
“He mentored hundreds of aviators,” Coble said, and taught his three daughters to fly. Only one, Lark Applehans, got a private license.
Mehlin had few accidents while flying. One time his plane developed a faulty fuel line and he had to land in a field. He broke both wrists. A few times he was forced to land on a highway.
As much as he enjoyed flying, Mehlin had no desire to be an airline pilot, Coble said. “He thought it was too structured,” she said. “He loved the freedom of what he did.”
Bea Wilhite, president of the Colorado Aviation Historical Society, called Mehlin “a kind and gentle soul” and a good instructor “because he had such a passion for aviation.”
At his burial Thursday at Fairmount Cemetery, five members of the Quiet Birdmen, an aviators organization, flew the “Missing Man” formation over the crowd. One left the formation and “flew off to the West,” said Coble, denoting the missing man.
On the headstone for Ed and his wife, Kathleen Mehlin, is an etching of a plane.
Edward J. Mehlin was born in Denver on Aug. 6, 1924, and graduated from West High School.
According to an old family story, Mehlin’s mother took him to a dental office in downtown Denver when he was 2 1/2 years old. From the office building they saw part of a parade honoring Charles Lindbergh. From then on he was fascinated by planes.
Mehlin was in the U.S. Naval Air Corps but served as an instructor because they were more scarce than fliers, his daughter said.
After the war he was chief pilot and vice president of Vest Aircraft company from 1947 until 1962. During that time he piloted planes in every state except Hawaii.
In 1962 he joined Clinton Aviation as a sales manager and sold the first Learjet in Colorado, his family said.
He then worked for Aviation Sales Inc., staying there until this year.
Mehlin met Kathleen Kelly when she was learning to fly. They married on June 16, 1950. She died in 2001.
In addition to Shawn Coble and Lark Applehans of Commerce City, he is survived by daughter Erin Whelan of Aurora and four grandchildrenInside.
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Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
