AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2019 - 12

AOPA ACTION

Aviation legend Clay Lacy
awarded Hoover Trophy
ForeFlight founders recognized for GA safety achievement
CHEERS AND APPLAUSE greeted recordsetting air race champion, military test
pilot, airline captain, cinematographer,
and entrepreneur Clay Lacy as he was presented the 2019 Hoover Trophy by actor,
general aviation advocate, and 2018 Hoover
winner Harrison Ford in late March.
Ford presented the award to Lacy during the fourth annual R.A. "Bob" Hoover
Trophy Awards presented by AOPA, which
honors GA accomplishment.
Lacy said he was "very humbled" and
"honored" to receive the award named
after the test pilot and aerobatic showman, an aviation mentor who inspired a
generation of pilots, during a ceremony
in the historic Terminal A lobby at Ronald
Reagan Washington National Airport in
Washington, D.C.
Lacy, an airman from Wichita, Kansas,
has logged 53,000 hours in more than 300
aircraft with 32 type ratings, set 29 world
speed records, and flew more than 2,500

film missions from his adopted Los Angeles
home. More than 50 years ago he founded
an FBO at Van Nuys Airport that bears his
name and today counts more than 500
employees.
AOPA Air Safety Institute Executive
Director Richard McSpadden presented
the second annual GA Safety Award to
ForeFlight founders Tyson Weihs and
Jason Miller for delivering "exceptional
performance in safety to benefit the entire
general aviation industry."
Hawaii state Sen. Kai Kahele (D), a
commercial airline pilot and commissioned officer in the Hawaii Air National
Guard, was presented the Sharples Award,
named for AOPA's first chairman, Laurence
P. Sharples. The award recognizes those
who do not work in aviation but who have
made "extraordinary contributions" to GA.
The Joseph B. "Doc" Hartranft Award,
named for AOPA's first president, was presented to Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). The

BAKER ON
THE NEWS
"The Hoover trophy is presented
to an aviator who exhibits the airmanship, leadership, and passion
for aviation and life demonstrated
by Bob Hoover. Bob gave his heart
and soul to America and represented the very best of us, not
only as the greatest pilot in the
world, but as a true gentleman."
-AOPA President Mark Baker

award is presented to elected or appointed
government officials for their significant
contributions to the advancement of GA.
www.aopa.org/pilot/hooveraward

LEADERSHIP AWARD PRESENTED TO AOPA PRESIDENT
'AVIATION WEEK' awarded its sixty-second annual Laureates, a

series of awards recognizing achievements in business aviation,
commercial, defense, and space. AOPA President Mark Baker was
awarded the Laureate for Leadership in the Business Aviation category. He was nominated by the staff of Business and Commercial
Aviation magazine and the other editors at the Aviation Week network of publications. His nomination read: "From helping create
flying clubs to welcoming drone pilots, AOPA under Baker has
addressed declining private pilot numbers with initiatives including providing aviation education to high schools, lobbying for
medical certification reform and helping rusty pilots get back in
the cockpit."
12 | AOPA PILOT May 2019

Others winning Laureates in the Business Aviation category were Garmin International, Gulfstream Aerospace, Pratt
& Whitney Canada, and GE. Bombardier won the Grand Laureate
in the category for its Global 7500, which, according to the nomination, "sets a new standard for business jets with a four-section
cabin, full-size kitchen and dedicated crew suite; advanced flyby-wire and flight deck technology; and a 7,700-nm range."
"This year's winners exemplify the spirit and innovations
that are transforming our industry to meet the challenges of
tomorrow," said Aviation Week Network Editorial Director Joe
Anselmo.
www.aopa.org/pilot/aviationweek

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/hooveraward http://www.aopa.org/pilot/aviationweek

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2019