-Captain Cleo Hodge Takes to the Sky

Captain Cleophas Uriel Hodge

by J’Quahnia Tyson

“I would consider myself to be a friendly guy. I’m very easy to get along with, but I dislike when people try to take advantage of me. I get angry when people try to take my goodness for weakness,” says the renowned Captain Cleophas Hodge.

Anyone that has ever encountered Captain Hodge would definitely say, without any doubt or hesitation, that they have crossed paths with one of the greatest people the world has to offer. I stepped into his office on a sunny Monday afternoon and carefully explained that I had to interview a person over 40 for a school assignment and the reason why I chose to interview him. He jokingly said, “But J’Quahnia, I’m not over 40!” and let out a hearty laugh.

Cleophas Uriel Hodge, better known as “Cleo” or “The Chief,” was born on June 21, 1954 on the island of Anguilla. “I grew up in Anguilla and went to school there. We had it a little rough. We had to walk to school in the morning, walk back home in the afternoon for lunch, walk back to school after lunch, then walk back home after school. It was such a long journey because the school was approximately five miles from where I lived. When we got home, we had to take care of the animals. We had to make sure they had food and water and put them in their pen.” Cleo comes from a very large family where no sibling has fewer than six children.

“A lot of funny things have happened to me,” Captain Hodge said and laughed as he thought about his past. “When I was a kid, there was a bus driver who was also a baker. He took us for a ride to the forest and he was speeding. He was going around corners really fast. When we got to the forest and everybody else was looking around, I took off running to get back home. I was too scared to drive back with him. While they were driving back, they caught up with me and they all picked me up and threw me back in the bus. I thought that was pretty funny, and some of my friends still tease me about it to this day.”

At a young age, Cleo knew he wanted to be either a doctor or a pilot. “I ended up being a pilot because I was not into going to school for eight years to become a doctor. I already had knowledge in aviation and figured that I could complete my pilot courses in a year, so I did that instead. I also love traveling, and I figured being a pilot would involve more traveling. I can be in four different islands in one day and I love that.” A smile grew on his face as a reminisced on his life.

Before Cleo became the extraordinary pilot he is today, he held a number of different technical jobs. “Right out of high school, I worked for the health department, then I worked for a telephone company repairing telephones and installing services. I also did watch repair and watch assembly for one of the local businesses on St. Thomas, but if I had to get out of flying for any reason, I would go back to working with telephones.”

Once he obtained his pilot license, Cleo attended the Miami Dade College where he studied aviation. “My college experience was good. I did not face any major challenges."

After college, Captain Hodge flew for Air Virgin Islands, Air Anguilla and also worked as a training pilot for some time, but soon wondered why he should spend time building someone else’s business when he can build his own foundation and work hard for himself, so 32 years ago, he opened the ACE Flight Center. “I enjoy my business, and I enjoy running my business, but now it’s getting to the point where it’s not as lucrative as it used to be because of the poor economy and the rising fuel prices.”

Captain Hodge received his instructor rating in 1976 and has trained over 1000 people. “The youngest person I can remember training is my son, Junior. I gave him his first lesson at age five. I also taught my grandson. He was too short to reach the controls and pedals, so he had to sit in my lap. He had his first lesson going to San Juan at age four. The oldest person I have ever trained was Bob Spence. I will never forget him. I soloed him on his 60th birthday and he got his license at age 61. He was so excited. He now owns two airplanes and lives in Florida where he has a runway in his backyard.”

I decided to go on and ask Captain Hodge about his flight experiences. “My most memorable experience in the air was flying from Greece to New York with another friend. It was a nine hour flight and we ate and played cards all the way.”

Captain Hodge has also had some bad experiences. “I had a couple of scary experiences. One of the scariest ones was when I was giving a flight lesson. The student froze on the controls and stalled the airplane. We were very close to the water, and I recovered the airplane at about three feet above the water.”

“Another scary moment was when I took off in a DC-3 and the mechanic left a wrench in the nose of the airplane. As I made my turn toward San Juan, the wrench fell in and jammed the rudder. The airplane kept circling. I had to shut one engine off and boost the other to get the airplane back to the runway.” Although Captain Hodge has had many bad experiences, none has ended in fatality.

Captain Hodge is a God-fearing, down-to-earth guy. He is married and has children and grandchildren. His favorite sport is dominoes and he enjoys playing with friends. He encourages young people to “go to school, learn their lessons, and take foreign languages because you will never know when you will need them.” Before Captain Hodge retires, he would like to go on a tour of the world by plane. Then, after he retires, he plans travel.

Anyone who has met Captain Hodge also knows he is a successful man. He hates being stagnant and believes in moving from one task to another. “I like to go to different places and learn different things. I don’t like being idle.”

When I asked him about his accomplishments he replied, “I was able to buy my own airplane at age 27, and I became the captain at one of the local airlines at age 28. I own a flight school and charter company. I have my own home, my own wife, and children, so I feel that I have accomplished a great deal in life and most of all, I’m happy doing what I do.”

Cleo is satisfied with what he has accomplished, but he doesn’t feel that he has accomplished all that he has set out to do. “Honestly, I would like to accomplish more. Some people might look at it as being greedy. Don’t get me wrong, I have accomplished a lot, but it’s always good to keep going. I love challenges.”