Cornelius Robinson Coffey (September 6, 1903, Newport, Arkansas – March 2, 1994, Chicago, Illinois)[1] [2] was an American aviator.
Alongside Willa Brown, he was the first African American to create a non-university-affiliated aeronautical school in the United States.
[4] He worked with his friend John C. Robinson, together, they formed the Challenger Air Pilots Association and in the 1930s integrated the Curtiss–Wright Aeronautical University.
[5] He opened the Coffey School of Aeronautics in Robbins, Illinois with his wife, Willa Brown, where many African American pilots were trained, including some of the Tuskegee Airmen.
[9] The Cornelius R. Coffey Aviation Education Foundation was established at the American Airlines Maintenance Academy in Chicago in his honor to train young pilots.