David Gevers

In the eyes of a supporter of his Hall of Fame nomination, Dave Gevers can best be described as a “Renaissance Aviator.”  Perhaps, this is because he maintains a personal library of over 4,400 aviation-related titles. 

Dave’s very diverse aviation-related background and interests make him a “Renaissance Aviator.” For beginners, Dave earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University that he applies to his work with airplanes. In addition to being a fixed and rotary wing pilot, he’s also an A&P mechanic with an inspection authorization, a flight instructor, an aerial applicator, and a patented aircraft designer. He also flies gliders.

A life-long Hoosier, Dave Gevers was born in Fort Wayne but has lived most of his adult life in rural Tippecanoe County. Assisting his father-in-law, Dave developed a housing addition with a private airport, Timberhouse, that has become somewhat a “mecca” for aviators in Mid-north Indiana and home to a local Experimental Aircraft Association chapter.

It is in this venue that Dave is often sought out for his knowledge of how to fly and maintain aircraft. No matter who contacts him—or when— that person is always treated as the “most important person” on Dave’s schedule.

Dave’s love and support for the EAA is well-known in Indiana, and beyond. Locally, he has held numerous chapter officer positions and he hosts meetings, makes presentations, and conducts workshops both in operations and airworthiness. Nationally, he has served the EAA as a Judge of Homebuilt Aircraft at AirVenture for more than a decade. He also serves the EAA as a technical counselor, a flight advisor, and as a member of the Homebuilt Advisory Council.

Dave developed and maintains a searchable aviation database of more than 73,000 aircraft makes and models with cross references to the books in his library. His database will tell the searcher the title of the book and provide a page number to find the aircraft. Information for approximately 50% of the included makes and models can’t be found without using this database. To give you an idea of its size, it is approximately eight times larger than the Smithsonian’s database.

Dave holds 12 patents, three of them applicable to airplanes. One of those is for a triphibian landing gear. What’s that, you wonder? Well, it allows a pilot to select—in flight—either wheels, skis, or an amphibious hull and then land on either land, snow, or water.

It is interesting to note that Dave’s nomination garnered written support from two other members of the Indiana Aviation Hall of Fame: Dr. Charles Holleman, Class of 2022, and Dr. Thomas Carney, Class of 2023.