John Clinch is considered the “father of North Platte aviation.” A Norfolk, Nebraska native, Clinch came to North Platte, Nebraska in 1938, when the airfield was a fenced pasture, and started the Clinch Flying Service. For thirteen years he also managed the North Platte airport, which has become a modern municipal airport. His public career also consisted of assisting in the development of the State Department of Aeronautics and helping organize the Nebraska Aviation Trades Association.

During World War II Clinch put his flying skills to work as a teacher. Seven hundred naval cadets took to the air at the North Platte field. After the war the Clinch Flying Service expanded into Clinch International, a noted flying service.

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