When former fighter pilot John Barry took the stick as president and CEO of Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in 2017, he did so when conditions were less than favorable.

The Lowry location of the popular aviation-themed nonprofit had its own challenges, but Barry’s bigger bogey would be to deliver a second museum at Centennial Airport  to stakeholders and do so with a capital fund campaign that was a few million dollars short.

And 18 months later he did just that.

But, now, with eight years in the rearview mirror, the U.S. Air Force Academy honor graduate — and classmate of “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger — said he’s ready to travel and spend a little more time with his family.

And write a book.

But just because he announced his retirement, don’t assume Barry will actually be leaving Wings Over the Rockies.

In fact, Barry said he’s looking forward to returning as a volunteer.

“Well, you know, some would say that I flunked retirement four times already,” he said of his long and varied career which includes Air Force officer, military assistant to Secretary of State Dick Cheney, and superintendent of Aurora Public Schools.

At almost 73 years old, Barry is still a licensed private pilot. He said he will continue to use his personal aircraft, which is hangered at the Centennial location, to support the organization’s Teacher Flight and Young Eagles programs.

Looking back over his cumulative 17 years with the organization, Barry said he’s seen his share of ups and downs.

In March 2020, Wings — like other museums across the state — closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and at the direction of state authority.

The museum closed for three and a half months.

Barry admits he had concerns about whether the museum, which relies heavily on admissions, concessions and revenue as an event venue, would survive the public health crisis.

It was a sink-or-swim situation, and Barry said it reminded him of the financial crisis he experienced as superintendent of Aurora Public Schools.

He drew heavily from that experience.

“So, I offered (Wings) staff a couple of choices,” he said. “I said, ‘We can either let people go, or we can all take a pay cut.’”

Staff members agreed to accept a temporary reduction in pay.

“I took a 50% pay cut,” Barry said. “The leadership team took a 20% pay cut and then everybody else took either a 10, 5 or 2% cut; and we survived. And we were eventually able to reimburse everybody that still was with us, for that loss.”

While he points out a lot of proud moments in his career with the museum, Barry notes that his biggest disappointment during his tenure was not being able to deliver on the completion of a companion structure to Wings Blue Sky Gallery at Centennial Airport.

“We were on a really very successful track before COVID,” Barry explained. “And, we had donors interested in building the Black Sky Gallery.”

Initial donors funded the project as far as the design work, but the pandemic took its toll on interested parties.

“I know that it’s going to be built,” he said of the Black Sky Gallery. “It’s just not gonna be built while I’m CEO.”

Meanwhile, cue up the contingency plan — an aviation-themed food hall with a beer garden.

The idea is to attract more visitors and revenue to the Centennial Airport location while fundraising for the new gallery continues.

“So, now we’ve made a public-private partnership with the approval of the airport to build a food hall and another hangar,” he said.

Through a partnership with CREO Capital Partners, LLC and Insignia — of 505 Salsa fame — Barry said the Wings is on track to open the facility sometime next year.

Plans for a new Wings CEO have been in the works for months.

“I told the board in December that I would like 2024 to be my transition year,” Barry said. “And we all agreed that we wouldn’t go public with it until June.”

The search for his replacement is already underway and is being shepherded by Kittleman and Associates, an executive search firm specializing in nonprofit leadership.

Barry will not participate in the selection process and noted that he will step down from the Wings board after a replacement is hired.

There’s no firm timeline for hiring.

“I told them if it’s one month or if it’s six months, I’d be glad to stay on as long as necessary to get the right person sitting in this chair,” he said. “So there’s no rush, and I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not leaving Colorado, so it’s really a mutual agreement.”