# DLA Aviation’s top civilian privately controls small aircraft squadron

/ Published March 6, 2024
RICHMOND, Va., 
A love of aviation that took root early in Charlie Lilli’s life stemmed from his father, a doctor who enjoyed flying planes in his private time.

“Almost every Thursday, his day off, we flew to Scranton [Pennsylvania] to see my grandmother,” said Lilli, now the deputy commander of Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, the military’s primary source for aircraft parts.

While childhood flights with dad provided the initial spark; marrying into a family of career pilots as a young man was the jet fuel that flared Lilli’s transformation into a true aerophile.

“My father-in-law was in the Army Air Corps during World War II, where he served as a mechanic,” Lilli said. “After his service, he joined Pan Am and worked his way up from mechanic to international pilot flying 747s. My brother-in-law was an F-14 pilot for the Navy, as well.”

As fate would have it, less-than-perfect vision kept Lilli himself out of the cockpit. But that didn’t hold him back from completing a successful 28-year career as a Navy Supply Corps officer with the rank of rear admiral. Nor did it stop him from pursuing his dreams of flight in other ways.

"Back in 1982, I was living in Virginia Beach [Virginia] with my wife, and my brother-in-law was there,” he said. “Between the two of us, we decided we were going to fly radio control, so we both bought airplanes.” Lilli and his brother-in-law flew their RC planes regularly until the birth of Lilli’s oldest daughter – he has two – turned his modeling room into a nursery. He was only able to resume the hobby years later.

Prior to his current job, Lilli was the director of Sustainment and Supply Chain Integration for Lockheed Martin. Before that, his last active-duty assignment was as director of Supply, Ordnance and Logistics Operations in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.  

As with potato chips and challenge coins, Lilli contends that you can’t have just one RC aircraft. Forty-plus years after his inaugural RC flights, his private squadron now boasts 25 planes and helicopters of varying size.   

“It’s a collection of all kinds of airplanes,” he said. “There are some scale models of WWII aircraft – I have a Navy [F-4U] Corsair; a P-49; a T-28, which is a Navy trainer; and a P-51. All of those are equipped with flaps, lights and all kinds of good stuff, such as retractable landing gear and full automation.” 

Of Lilli’s RC planes, he said his T-28 Trojan is the easiest to fly.

“It’s [used for] aerobatics, so I really enjoy flying that one,” he said. “I have a bunch of what they call aerobatic aircraft. Some of them are made to look like regular planes that fly, but others are just made to fly and do wild things in the air. They can do what is called 3D flight, so it’s a lot of fun.” 

Lilli explained that 3D flight capabilities allow the plane to hover like a helicopter on its propeller, enabling the pilot to turn and spin the plane in several directions at high speed – maneuvers that are out of reach for more traditional RC planes.  

As an RC pilot, Lilli said the biggest challenge he faced was getting back into the hobby after a lengthy hiatus.  

“When I came back to flying after being away for so long, I was in Texas living near a golf course,” he said.  “When you start flying again after not doing it for a while, they can get away from you.

“That is the hardest part: trying to remember how to fly and watching airplanes crash. In the past 15 years, I must have crashed 10 to 15 airplanes to the point to where they can’t be repaired.”  

Lilli said gradual advancements in manufactured RC planes have reduced the likelihood of crash landings – and a pilot’s wallet also takes less of a hit these days. 

“When I first started flying, putting an airplane into the air took about four months of building, and it was more than $500 between the radio and the actual airplane,” he said. “Now, you can buy one out of the box for less than $200, fully assembled and with a radio. The airplanes are equipped with all kinds of safety features. If you make a mistake or get one out of kilter, you can push a button and it will straighten it out. It’s a lot easier than watching it hit the ground and destroy itself, forcing you to start all over again.” 

Lilli now shares his love of flying with the next generation of aviation enthusiasts, creating RC airshows near his home to showcase stunt flying for interested families and neighbors. He said he enjoys passing his knowledge of flying RC planes to others who want to dive into the hobby. 

“I’d say find someone who already flies; it’s a lot cheaper that way,” he said, drawing a comparison to two-seater trainer aircraft commonly used in the military, which allow new aviators to fly with a seasoned instructor.

“RC planes now come with what is called a buddy system, where you can connect your radio to a new pilot’s radio, fly the airplane with a push of a button, then turn it back over to the student pilot,” Lilli said. “If they get into trouble, take it back and straighten it out.”

Even with all the attention paid to his flying, Lilli also invests plenty of time in his other hobbies: golfing, bowling and classical guitar. 

“It’s all about work-life balance,” he said, also admitting that “once your kids grow up and leave, you have more time to spend on hobbies.”

Nonetheless, Lilli still sees his daughters often. Both women are Navy officers like their father, and medical professionals like their grandfather.