Schaefer entered West Point 1914, and was a classmate to Dwight Eisenhower. Five years later he flew the first military airplane into Wichita. In 1927, he became sales manager of the new Stearman Aircraft Company, and in 1931, replaced Lloyd Stearman as general manager. Under his direction Stearman developed a small, fabric biplane later known as the Boeing Kaydet. After Stearman merged with Boeing, more than 10,000 Kaydets were manufactured on the Wichita production line. Under Schaefer’s guidance Boeing constructed more than 1,165 B-19’s during World War II, and later developed the B-47 and B-52 bombers. Schaefer was instrumental in the promotion of the Army Air Corp Bill in 1957, and lobbied Congress to implement the bill that created the United States Air Force.