JOHN RICHARD COOPER JR

John Richard Cooper Jr. operates out of Delaware County Airport (KDLZ) in Delaware, Ohio, and is the first African American FAA helicopter Designated Pilot Examiner in the state, conducting private, commercial, and instrument rating practical tests in helicopters. Cooper's aviation career began as a teenager when he earned his Private Pilot single-engine land rating. To fund his rotorcraft training, he saved money from a paper route and worked a second job scrapping surplus Army helicopters in Maryland, ultimately earning his private helicopter add-on certificate in an Enstrom helicopter in the late 1970s or early 1980s before achieving his Commercial Helicopter certificate and becoming a Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI). He went on to serve 33 years with the Columbus Division of Police, joining the Helicopter Unit in 1991 and becoming its Safety and Training Officer in 1996. Upon retiring in 2021, he was the department's longest-serving pilot and safety officer, having amassed over 5,900 helicopter flight hours, including 3,500 instruction hours. Cooper established the first accredited Safety Management System (SMS) for a U.S. airborne law enforcement unit, led his department to earn Public Safety Aviation Accreditation Commission accreditation in 1999, secured funding for an inadvertent instrument meteorological conditions flight simulator, and developed training initiatives with air traffic controllers. His safety leadership earned him two Columbus Police Medals of Merit, the 2021 Helicopter Association International Law Enforcement Award, and the 2021 Airborne Public Safety Association Safety Award.