Carl E. Guell

Carl Guell, nationally known as the "father of the aerial field trip" has served in aviation and aerospace education for nearly 50 years. He was a native of Fond du Lac and attended Oshkosh State Teachers College and the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Carl served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1940 until 1945 and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve. He held a commercial pilot certificate with single and multiengine ratings.

In 1940 he initiated the use of the airplane as a teaching tool and developed the Aerial Field Trip Program through which school children, college and university students and teachers have studied geography, geology, conservation and social studies from the air.

From 1941 to 1981 Carl supervised the state's Veteran's Flight Training Program for the Educational Approval Board. He also developed and promoted career aviation training programs in Wisconsin's technical institutes and ground school training programs for pilots.

Carl was the 1974 recipient of the Billy Mitchell Memorial Award for outstanding service in aeronautics. Also among his meritorious achievements, too many to detail here, is the Crown Circle Award from the National Congress on Aerospace Education for his efforts in promoting aerospace education and compiling state aerospace history.

He was a member of the Alpha Eta Rho, an international aviation fraternity and a charter member of the Madison Hangar QBs (Quiet Birdmen). Retired from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Bureau of Aeronautics, Carl privately served as an aeronautics resource person and was an avid promoter of the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame.

For more information on Carl and to view images from his aerial field trips visit: http://home.earthlink.net/~tfonstad/image1.htm