Central Florida Aviation History – Pat Phillips
Hybrid Meeting – Jan. 26, 2023
R. Patrick Phillips is in private law practice in Orlando, Florida. He received his B.S. degree in economics in 1966 from the University of Florida. After graduation, he entered the United States Air Force. He flew C-7A Caribou aircraft in all areas of Southeast Asia, including 873 combat hours in Vietnam. Later, while flying as an Aircraft Commander and Instructor Pilot on Lockheed C-141 StarLifter Aircraft, he flew in virtually every nation in the free world. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve Retired. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) rating, a current FAA flight and ground instructor certificate for both single and multi-engine airplanes and instruments, an FAA Airframe & Powerplant mechanic certificate, and is a past holder of an unlimited surface-level aerobatic competency certification. He is the recipient of the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.
Mr. Phillips received his J.D. degree from Cumberland School of Law in 1975. He has been intensively engaged in the practice of law in all areas of civil and criminal litigation in all federal and state courts and is Florida Bar Board Certified in Aviation Law. He is a founding member of the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association, now called The International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association, and has represented numerous professional pilots, mechanics, aircraft operators, charter services, flight schools, and fixed base operators before the FAA and National Transportation Board Administrative Law Judges. He is an AOPA Panel Attorney and is past chairman of the Florida Bar Aviation Law Committee and of the Florida Bar Aviation Law Certification Committee. The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory has given Mr. Phillips its highest rating, AV. For over 20 years, he was a regular presenter at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Flight Instructor Refresher Course and other aviation-related seminars sponsored by institutions of higher education. Mr. Phillips is a past Co-Chair of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Legal Advisory Counsel and EAA Government Relations Committee. He is a Member of The Rotary Club of Orlando and a Past President. He is a former Board Member of Orlando Youth Aviation Center and Sun’n Fun Fly In, Inc., where he now serves as an Emeritus Board member. He was inducted into the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame in 2020.