Alumni Focus - Chuck Wiplinger ('98)
Charlie (Chuck) Wiplinger (‘98) is the CEO/President of Wipaire, Inc. in South St. Paul, Minnesota. Over the years, Chuck has shared his knowledge of aviation engineering with SCLA STEM students both at his business and in the SCLA classroom, and he introduced SCLA students to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Competition of which they placed second in 2018. He reflects on his time as a student at SCLA and shares information about his successful business, of which he is a third-generation business leader.
What is your favorite St. Croix memory?
There are so many great memories over the years I was there. A number of my favorites revolve around friends and athletics, not that I played a lot of athletics but was an avid spectator. There was the “cone team” that several of us with less athletic ability founded to cheer on our teams in which road cones were decorated and turned into megaphones to amplify our voices. We had a lot of fun supporting the various athletics as the cone team!
There also was the time we went to an away volleyball game, and St. Croix was not doing so well. Despite the significant lead the other team had, some younger fans for the opposing team, that had taken their shirts off and painted letters on their chests, still felt the need to be obnoxious. They were chanting “we got spirit yes we do, we got spirit how ‘bout you!?” Over and over and over again despite those of us there from St. Croix reciprocating with complete silence. Finally, I had enough of them and the next time they did it I led a few of us in a response: “We have chest hair yes we do, we have chest hair how ‘bout you?!” (yes, those of us with chest hair proudly showed it off!) Suddenly, they were bestowed with the same humbleness we had been demonstrating all night. While my antics didn’t drive a turn around in the game for St. Croix, it did provide some entertainment.
Did any specific SCLA teacher or staff make a positive impact on you?
I have fond memories and lessons from many faculty, but the three teachers who come to mind are Jim Stueber, Joe Lequia, and Jack Oldfield. It was apparent they loved what they did and it showed in the classroom. While they all taught very different classes, what stands out in my mind most about them is the manner in which they led the classroom and the expectations they set for us. Their expectations of what they wanted from us as students never changed, we had to change to succeed, and I believe we did. However, the expectations set did not preclude them from having fun in the classroom. They demonstrated to me that you could have high expectations of people and productivity, yet still have fun.
Can you tell us about your business, Wipaire?
Wipaire, put very simply, makes it so you can land your airplane on water more than once. Our core expertise is producing floats, or pontoons, that can be fitted under smaller (e.g. - turbo-prop) aircraft. We have also taken an aircraft typically used for crop dusting and turned it into an aerial firefighting aircraft for putting out wildfires that can scoop water from nearby lakes and rivers to be more effective. As we have grown over the years we have also established a services business that has maintenance, avionics, upholstery and paint capabilities.
Chuck is passionate about the aviation industry, and he has found a rewarding community of like-minded people. He shares, “Aviation feels like a much smaller community than it really is because many of the people are there because of a childhood fascination and a passion for aviation. This makes it a particularly great group of people that feels more like a group of friends.”
He hopes to encourage others to pursue careers in aviation and shares, “You can find aviation jobs for all levels of education and skill and even specialties that fall into other industries and disciplines.” From mechanics to pilots, engineers to fabricators, biologists to game wardens, and conservationists to humanitarians, there are career possibilities in aviation.