Gentleman Bill An American Saga

FlyingTalkers By Geoffrey Arend

Bill Spohrer died December 16 in Sarasota, Florida at age 91. Air Cargo lost a giant that quietly walked among us and made one hell of a difference in air cargo, changing the face of Miami Airport completely by innovating that airport some decades ago, into the pole position of global leadership in perishables.

It was Bill that changed "Corrosion Corner" in the air cargo area at Miami International into a huge refrigerator masquerading as an air cargo facility that eventually became a cornerstone of UPS operations at that gateway.

Bill was the driver in the creation of The International Air Cargo Association where he served as that organization's first President. He also was instrumental in the founding of Air Cargo Americas. Both are forces for good in organized air cargo today.

In the here today, gone tomorrow world of air cargo, Bill was for all seasons, and now he should be remembered as among the greatest air cargo builders of the 20th Century.

Here is Bill's story, written in 1993 by the greatest aviation historian R.E.G. Davies, when Ron was Curator of Air Transport at The National Air Museum in Washington, D.C.

Ron died in 2011, after many decades at NASM, having authored 30 books, including more than a dozen detailed histories of the leading airlines of the world and the Berlin Airlift.

Happy New Year 2023!