BUDA — Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Lieutenant Colonel Evan Miller, a long-time resident of Buda, was given the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for 50 years of flying without accident.
Miller, who retired from Delta in 2019, took his first flight when he was approximately 10 years old, during a fundraiser at a local airport in Bloomington, Indiana, which took people on a short flight for five cents per pound of weight. It was a 10-15 minute ride and, as Miller put it, he “kind of got the bug” from that flight.
After graduating from high school, he attended Purdue University in 1972 to study to be an aircraft mechanic. One of his instructors at Purdue, who was a World War II veteran, encouraged Miller to join the flight club nearby and get his private plane license. After graduating, he was then encouraged by a friend to join the ROTC and the Air Force.
“One of my roommates, also at the mechanic school, said, ‘If it were me to learn how to fly, I'd get a haircut and go talk to the Air Force at ROTC because that's where you can learn how to fly in the jets and things.’ And so, I did that,” said Miller.
During his time in the Air Force, Miller discovered just what kind of aircraft he wanted to fly.
“When I first started that process, I was thinking the Air Force has fighter airplanes and they have big, heavy airplanes. And I said, ‘I think probably I'd be more interested in the big, heavy airplane to get training to possibly go on to an airline career later,’” Miller said, but after taking a ride in an aircraft called a T-38 Talon, his mind was changed.
“I said, ‘Okay, this is what I want to do. I don't want to fly the big, heavy things. I want to fly these fighters.’ Because it's a sleek little sports car of an airplane,” said Miller.
During his time in the Air Force, his favorite aircraft to fly was the RF-4 Phantom — a reconnaissance plane — and Miller often flew one near the East Berlin border during the Cold War, collecting radar signals, data and pictures.
After leaving the Air Force, Miller was hired to fly planes for Delta. In his 29 and a half years at Delta, he was flying all over the country and internationally. When flying commercial airliners, pilots have to retire by age 65; Miller retired in 2019 and took a small break during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the world opened back up, he joined the CAP.
According to its website, the CAP is an auxiliary of the Air Force that was founded in 1941. With approximately 500 aircrafts across the United States, CAP runs searchand- rescue missions, as well as taking disaster photography. The patrol were some of the first planes to get pictures from the air of the 9/11 attacks in the United States. It also has a cadet program that offers training for children ages 12 to 18 and teaches them about leadership, aerospace, fitness and character, as well as giving them experience in and around aircrafts.
Since 2022, Miller has been a volunteer with the CAP. He currently holds CAP ratings as a Mission Scanner, Mission Observer, Airborne Photographer; he is also the Squadron Maintenance Officer.
“Lt. Col Miller’s vast piloting experience and his A&P designation allow him to provide invaluable insight in this position. We are very lucky to have him,” said 435th Squadron Commander Captain Mauricio Urquiola in a news release.
After his service in the Air Force, along with his time at Delta and the CAP, Miller has accumulated approximately 23,000 flight hours and has been flying for more than 50 years without incident. Receiving the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award is an acknowledgement of that achievement.
“If you have a passion for something in your life, just go do it. Just don't keep talking about it. Go and do something about it,” said Miller. “If you think you want to fly, don't keep saying you think you want to fly. Go check it out. Go talk to some people. Go hang out at the airports, learn about the whole flying deal.”
