Birth date: Apr 14, 1946 Death date: Jan 14, 2016
Richard "Chip" Loren Rohrer II, passed away peacefully due to complications from an accidental slip and fall on January 14, 2016. Chip was born in Pennsylvania on April 14, 1946 to Richard and Elaine Rohrer. He served in the Unite Read Obituary
I apologize for the inappropriate lateness of this post. I simply didn't know. I hadn't seen Chip for years, but I will never forget his patient instruction in the mid-80s as he taught me to fly gliders at Dillingham. He had a gift for teaching and inspiring the same joy he felt while flying. I am so sorry to learn of his loss. He was, very simply, a really good guy. It was my pleasure to know him.
Thank you, Chip, for your patience and mentoring. My time with you in a glider will never be forgotten.
I was looking back through Chip's old sailplane log books. I had forgotten, but I gave him his auto tow on his first solo flight back in 1973 at Dillingham Airfield.
We had an old Civil Air Patrol standard station wagon with the gear shifter on the column of the steering wheel. If you missed a gear the rope would start to slack leaving the glider pilot wondering if the rope had broken and whether to pull the release to free the sailplane so the pilot could head for the ridge to get some lift to stay in the air.
Fortunately, that day I did not miss a gear and Chip successfully made it to the ridge and bought more time to stay up in the air to plan his landing some 30 minutes later.
Little did I know he would go on to fly over 18,000 flights and 8,000 hours of glider flying while inspiring 100's if not thousands to fly. He was a great brother and I am always glad we enjoyed the joy of soaring together. I will always miss him and think of him especially when I fly.
Chip was a my glider instructor. I will always remember him as wonderfully patient, calm and inspirational. He shared his joy of flying and life.
