Feb. 18—No need to scramble the fighter jets for these UFOs. The United Flying Octogenarians come in peace.
The club for aviators age 80 and up was founded four decades ago to promote fellowship, safety and longevity among older pilots. The organization now boasts more than 1,800 members worldwide, including about 20 in Tucson.
Retired Raytheon engineer turned inventor Toshikazu Tsukii flew for the first time as an air cadet in his native Japan in 1958 and became a licensed pilot in the U.S. in 1967. He joined the UFOs on his 80th birthday so he could be the club's youngest member, at least for one day.
"I think that's kind of cute," he said.
Now 85, Tsukii said he mostly flies solo these days to keep his skills honed, though he also loves the beauty, the solitude and the total sense of control he gets to experience as a pilot.
Once a week or so, he rolls one of his two Cessnas out of the hangar at his house at La Cholla Airpark in Oro Valley, drives it down a street that doubles as a taxiway in his neighborhood and spends about an hour in the sky over Southern Arizona.
"I still enjoy my time flying, and I will try to continue to fly as long as my mental health and physical health allow me to," he said.
Tsukii was part of a small group of local UFO members who gathered at a buffet restaurant in Marana on Thursday to meet their club's new president, Ken "Brownie" Brown, during his 10-city tour of chapters across the West.
The 83-year-old Brown isn't instrument-rated, so he left his airplane at his home outside cloudy Seattle and hit the road in a car.
After Thursday's luncheon, the UFO president got a tour of Tsukii's famously eccentric home, where the aviation-obsessed engineer has fashioned whole buildings out of actual airliners — a pool house made from a dissected 747 fuselage, and a multi-unit guest house built from the nose of a 737, the midsections of two 707s and the tail of a 727.
UFO touts itself as one of the world's most exclusive clubs for aviators. Anyone who has piloted an airplane at least once after his or her 80th birthday is eligible to join.
The club's motto is: "Where the history of aviation is still flying."
Brown said there is no upper age limit for general aviation pilots. To maintain their licenses, they have to do what any pilot does, namely complete a flight review with a certified instructor at least once every two years and undergo regular medical checks.
It's up to individuals to decide when it's time to hang it up, Brown said, though sometimes outside forces conspire to make that decision for you.
"The biggest issue is insurance for pilots over 80," he said. Some carriers will jack up their premiums when pilots reach a certain age or decline to cover them at all.
"If you have a company that's insuring you, don't change," Brown said. "That seems to be the key: Don't change."
Eighty and up
UFO was founded in Las Vegas in 1982 by a group of airplane-crazy seniors who were looking for a more organized excuse to hang out and swap stories.
Today there are members in all 50 states and at least seven other countries from Norway to Australia. Arizona ranks near the top in per-capita membership with 56 active UFOs.
The club's rolls run the gamut from relatively new recreational pilots to commercial aviators and air-combat veterans. One UFO is a former professor and flight instructor from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Brown said he caught the aviation bug about 25 years ago when his wife, Skip, gave him a flying lesson as a gift. Since then, he's flown them on cross-country trips to places as far away as Alaska.
These days, he mostly takes short flights a few times a week in his speedy little Van's RV-9A, usually with Skip in the seat next to him. "I say I'm the navigator, but I don't really navigate," she said.
Eighty is merely a starting point for this club. There are 276 members in their 90s and four in their 100s. The oldest is 108.
UFO members don't die, "they take that last flight west," Brown said. "We have more gains than losses, but we do have losses."
The club still collects $20 a year in dues from each member — the same amount they've always charged — and "it manages to do nothing for us," Brown joked.
Most of their revenue these days comes from private donations, mostly from pilots, and the UFO merchandise they sell on their website.
Brown was elected president in October and is now overseeing something of a restart for the club, which lost some of its momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Things kind of deteriorated in a lot of social clubs because you couldn't do anything social," he explained. "We're trying to turn the crank again and see if we can't get the old engine running."
They're also trying to expand what they offer to members by providing research on insurance issues, recruiting an aviation attorney to offer legal tips and developing a UFO hall of fame to preserve the histories of the standouts in their ranks.
Still learning
Tucson transplant Howard Deevers doesn't just fly in his 80s, he teaches other people to fly.
The certified instrument flight instructor takes off almost every day from Ryan Airfield, Tucson International Airport or Marana Regional Airport, usually with a student at his side.
When he isn't instructing, he loves to climb behind the controls of his Piper Warrior and fly cross-country to visit family or check out someplace new.
Two years ago, he and a friend flew to Montana and North Dakota because those were the last two states in the lower 48 he had "never drug a wingtip through."
"The only state I have not flown in is Alaska," Deevers said.
Though he didn't take up flying until he was almost 40, aviation is in his blood. Deevers' mother served as an aircraft mechanic during World War II.
"I wish I had her tool box now," he said.
Deevers is a member of UFO's board of directors and serves as its area representative for Arizona. He has racked up 45 years as a pilot and 30 years as an instructor. He will turn 85 in a few weeks.
He believes flying helps keep him sharp, but he can guess what other people might think. Deevers is familiar with the stereotypes about people his age.
He said most of the older pilots he knows are their own toughest critics. They know their abilities better than anyone, and they can tell when they're losing their edge. They don't want to keep flying if it isn't safe for them to do it anymore.
"I'm hoping we all have the brains to know when it's time," Deevers said.
Until that day, he knows just where he'll be.
"Instructors don't know everything. They just tell you they do," he said with a laugh. "There's still stuff to learn. I learn everyday."
It doesn't matter how long you live, Deevers said, "you're never going to learn it all."
Contact reporter Henry Brean at [email protected] or 573-4283. On Twitter: @RefriedBrean
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