[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 162 (Monday, November 14, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  A TRIBUTE TO ERNIE SMITH IN THE SECOND SESSION OF THE 114TH CONGRESS

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                            HON. DAVID YOUNG

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 14, 2016

  Mr. YOUNG of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
congratulate Ernie Smith of Red Oak, Iowa, for being named by the 
Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest active pilot in the world.
  Ernie has been a licensed pilot since September 15, 1942. For the 
past 74 years, local friends have known that, if you cannot find Ernie 
nearby, he is probably up in the sky. In January 2016, Red Oak Airport 
Manager Kevin McGrew and other community leaders nominated him for the 
distinction of ``oldest active pilot in the world.'' Later this spring, 
they videotaped a flight to authenticate his activity in the air. The 
official pronouncement from the Guinness Book of World Records came 
recently, confirming that Ernie Smith, 98, is officially ``the oldest 
active pilot in the world,'' soaring beyond the previous record by five 
years.
  Ernie told Omaha, Nebraska-based KMTV-TV last December why he likes 
to fly: ``I say, well, I don't know how to tell you, but you come out 
some morning before daylight and go out and watch that sun come up over 
the horizon and you'll have your answer.'' Ernie still flies in a 
rented plane, usually two times a week. He even braved foggy weather 
conditions to celebrate his 98th birthday in the sky last December.
  Mr. Speaker, it is because of Iowans like Ernie that I'm proud to 
represent our great state in the United States Congress. I ask that my 
colleagues in the United States House of Representatives join me in 
congratulating him for this outstanding accomplishment and in wishing 
him nothing but continued success.

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