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Allen C. Patterson has more than 35 years of real estate experience, but aviation is in his blood. His paternal grandparents were both pilots in the 1930s; his grandmother Clayton Patterson flew with legendary pilot Amelia Earhart, he said. His mother, at age 16, used her babysitting money to pay for flying lessons from a floatplane operator.

So it’s no surprise that flying became one of the biggest parts of Patterson’s life. Recently, the senior vice president of Capacity Commercial Group/CORFAC International received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award from the Federal Aviation Administration. The award is the FAA‘s most prestigious; it recognizes individuals who have exhibited professionalism, skill and aviation expertise for at least 50 years.

鈥淚’m very honored,鈥� Patterson said. 鈥淚t’s a neat award and it’s a nice thank you from the FAA.鈥�

Patterson grew up in Southern California and became fascinated with flying from an early age. He recalls riding his bicycle to the airport near the farm where he was raised to watch the planes.

Eventually, Patterson began using his money to take flying lessons at Machado Flying Service in Santa Maria, California. He received his FAA student certification at 16.

鈥淓arly on it was just a matter of fascination with flying and going out there to fly and watching airplanes and being able to earn money and be able to take some lessons,鈥� he said.

Patterson received his private license in August 1962 and his commercial license in August 1966.

While attending the University of Colorado at Boulder, Patterson flew tail-wheel aircraft and joined the Army ROTC. He later transferred to UCLA, where he had the chance to mingle with people around Van Nuys Airport. From there, he flew charter flights part-time to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Later, Patterson got a job ferrying new Piper aircraft from Piper’s factory in Vero Beach, Florida, to the Piper dealer in California. He made the cross-country trips both with a co-pilot and solo.

鈥淚t was a lot of fun and just a unique experience,鈥� he said.

After graduating with a master’s in finance/business from the University of California at Northridge in 1966, Patterson qualified for the F-4 Phantom flight school for Vietnam. However, when he went to receive a physical exam, doctors discovered that a hunting accident had left him with hearing loss in the high frequency range.

Patterson landed a job in automobile sales and got married. He and his wife, Sherry, moved to Bellevue, Washington. Flying took a backseat.

鈥淚 got my floatplane rating on Lake Union,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I didn’t really do any flying at that time because I had no money and no time with a new bride.鈥�

The couple eventually moved to Portland. In the late 1970s, Patterson was asked to move to Dallas to become a regional sales manager there. But he and his wife had no desire to leave the West Coast.

鈥淲e’re West Coast people and we didn’t want to go to the humidity country,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a result, I looked around for something that could keep us in either Portland or Seattle.鈥�

One day in 1979, Patterson saw an ad for a commercial real estate job with Coldwell Bank. He was hired and worked for CBRE for 10 years, and met Don Ossey there. The two joined Norris & Stevens together, and left four years later to form Ossey & Patterson. That firm morphed into Capacity Commercial Group in 2004, with the addition of new partners.

Patterson specializes in industrial brokerage services, representing owners, investors, developers and tenants in the Portland area for over 30 years. He said that aviation and commercial real estate have similarities.

鈥淎 high level of expertise is needed to succeed in both,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n flying you have to get it right the first time. In commercial real estate, dealing with your clients and trying to be the best you can be, that (need to get it right the first time) carries through. It really makes a difference in trying to put the deals together.鈥�

While flying never became Patterson’s career, it has remained an enormous part of his life. He and his wife have owned several airplanes. He still flies commercially as a tow pilot for the Willamette Valley Soaring Club in North Plains, launching gliders up to soaring levels. He also is a member of the Columbia Aviation Association.

As much as Patterson adores flying, he enjoys the people the most.

鈥淚n aviation, there’s a certain group of people who are a little more outgoing and more adventurous,鈥� he said. 鈥淎fter the flying is done and the logbook is filled out, it’s the joy of mixing with the people associated with aviation.鈥�