Aerospace award
Living Legends of AviationFounder | Jerry Lips |
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Type | 501(c)(3) nonprofit |
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Purpose | Recognition of Aviation and Aerospace Achievements |
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Membership | c. 132 |
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Executive Director | Jerry Lips (2016) |
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Parent organization | Kiddie Hawk Air Academy |
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Website | livinglegendsofaviation.org |
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The Living Legends of Aviation is an organization of remarkable people of extraordinary accomplishment in aviation and aerospace including: entrepreneurs, innovators, industry leaders, engineers, astronauts, record breakers, pilots who have become celebrities and celebrities who have become pilots. The Living Legends meet yearly in North America at The Beverly Hilton and in Europe every-other-year at the Scalaria Resort at a 15th century castle on the Wolfgangsee near Salzburg, Austria. Inductees and Awards are selected by the Living Legends of Aviation and by committees within the organization. These most prestigious awards are produced by and benefit the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a non-profit 501(c)(3).[1]
The 22nd Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards, honoring the best in aviation and aerospace for 2024, will be held on January 17, 2025, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where they have been held annually since 2007.
History
Jerry Lips, publisher of Airport Journals, came up with the idea of the Living Legends of Aviation at the time of the death of Michael Chowdry (founder of Atlas Air).[2] Airport Journals had been collecting and publishing biographies of various aviation personalities and Jerry regretted not having captured Chowdry's history. He began to compile a list of individuals that had made major contributions in the field of aviation, and had those people suggest more names until 70 were collected. These were the biographies that were to be recorded while the individuals were still "living". The list has grown over the years to its present number of 132. As Legends pass on, they are replaced by new inductees, selected by their fellow Legends.
Jerry Lips founded the Living Legends of Aviation in 2003 with the charter of celebrating the second century of aerospace. In 2008, Kiddie Hawk Air Academy acquired the rights to the organization and annual awards show from previous owner Airport Journals.
Inductees
Past inductees
Event
Beginning in 2003, an awards show has been organized each year to bring together the Living Legend members for a variety of events. The awards are presented at a prestigious live ceremony, most commonly in mid January following the relevant calendar year.
In 2003, the first Living Legends of Aviation Awards were presented at a banquet dinner hosted by Airport Journals at the Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colorado. To avoid any weather related issues, in 2006 the venue was moved to Southern California and held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles. Since 2007 the Awards have been presented at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.[3]
In 2018 the inaugural Living Legends of Aviation - Europe event was held on July 26, 2018 at the Scalaria hotel & resort in Salzkammergut, Austria.[4]
In 2021 the awards show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
List of winners
[5]
- The award was called the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award prior to 2018.
- The award was called the Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year Award prior to 2011, and the Aviation Industry Entrepreneur of the Year Award from 2012–2017.
- The award was called the Freedom of Flight Award prior to 2007.
Official Ambassador of Aviation Award Year | Winner |
2007 | John Travolta |
Aviation Industry Leader of the Year Award Year | Winner |
2007 | Pete Bunce |
2008 | Ed Bolen |
2009 | Preston Henne |
2010 | Mark Van Tine |
2014 | Michimasa Fujino |
2016 | Phebe Novakovic |
2018 | Brian Barents |
2021 | Marc Parent |
2021 | Bin Chen |
2023 | Gilles Labbé |
Legends Aviation Inventor Award Year | Winner |
2008 | Si Robin |
Harrison Ford Aviation Legacy Award Year | Winner |
2008 | Harrison Ford |
2009 | Jeffrey Puckett |
2010 | Pat Epps |
2011 | Richard Sugden |
2012 | Greg Anderson |
2013 | Marilyn Richwine & Rhonda Fullerton |
2014 | Mark Baker |
2015 | Scott Terry |
2016 | Peter Paul Luce |
2017 | Jim Inhofe |
2018 | Sean Tucker |
- The award was called the Legends Aviation Legacy Award prior to 2009.
Legends Top Flyer Award Year | Winner |
2008 | Paul "Max" Moga |
Legends Wings of Hope Award Year | Winner |
2017 | Frank Franke |
Out–Of-This-World Landing & Takeoff Award Year | Winner |
2009 | Buzz Aldrin |
Aircraft of Legend Award Year | Winner |
2011 | Boeing 787 Dreamteam |
Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award Year | Winner |
2012 | Roy Morgan |
2013 | Jack Erickson |
2014 | Elling Halvorson |
2015 | William "Bill" Chiles |
2016 | Steven Hickok |
2017 | Mike Silva |
2019 | Sergei Sikorsky |
2021 | Lon & Brenda Halvorson |
2022 | Max Lyons |
2023 | Lauren Sánchez |
- The award was called the Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award prior to 2019.
Lifetime Aviation Industry Leader Award Year | Winner |
2012 | James Albaugh |
2013 | Bruce N. Whitman |
2015 | Ray Conner |
2017 | David Joyce |
2018 | Jean Rosanvallon |
2022 | Mike Silvestro |
2023 | Mark Burns |
2023 | Guillaume Faury |
Doolittle Raiders Special Induction Award Year | Winner |
2015 | Dick Cole & David Thatcher[6] |
World’s Safest, Longest Continuous Operating Airline Award Year | Winner |
2018 | Leigh Clifford |
Legends Wings of Help Award Year | Winner |
2018 | Stefan Aust |
2019 | Claus & Gunnar Heinemann |
2019 | Thomas Schrade |
2021 | Bernd Breiter |
Changing Lives With Aviation Award Year | Winner |
2018 | Dick DeVos |
Technology Innovation Award Year | Winner |
2019 | Robert Machtlinger & Hu Huazhi |
Dr. Sam B Williams Technology Award Year | Winner |
2023 | Linden Blue |
2023 | Markus Bucher |
See also
References
- ^ "About".
- ^ "Read My Lips". December 2008.
- ^ Schapiro, Steve (March 2015). "Harrison Ford honors AOPA". AOPA Pilot: 27.
- ^ Living Legends of Aviation Europe https://www.legendseu.com
- ^ "Living Legends of Aviation | Honorees". Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
- ^ "Missoula Doolittle Raider Thatcher to join Living Legends of Aviation".
External links
- Living Legends of Aviation website
- Living Legends of Aviation Europe website
- Kiddie Hawk Air Academy website
- Airport Journals website
- Inductee portraits through 2007