The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) will present its most prestigious honor, the NBAA Meritorious Service to Aviation Award, to aviation icon, philanthropist and innovator Steven F. Udvar-Hazy during the 2026 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), taking place Oct. 20-22 in Las Vegas.
“Steven’s influence across the entire aviation/aerospace landscape is profound,” NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said. “His story is one of vision, perseverance and extraordinary impact. It is also a story of his total commitment to the industry’s future. NBAA is pleased to recognize his lifelong dedication to innovation, entrepreneurship and service with our Meritorious Service to Aviation Award.”
The award presentation on the show’s Horizon Stage will feature a live, in-depth conversation about the aviation industry between Udvar-Hazy and another NBAA Meritorious Service to Aviation Award recipient, accomplished aviator and global business leader, Ross Perot Jr.
Widely credited with pioneering the commercial aircraft leasing industry, Udvar-Hazy is also known for his extraordinary support for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and its Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Located at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), the free-to-visit “nation’s hangar” houses hundreds of historically significant aircraft and spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Udvar-Hazy fled to the U.S. with his family in 1958 following the Soviet reoccupation of the country. He took his first flight in a Piper Cub at age 15 and, one year later, began formal flight training at what is now known as Whiteman Airport (WHP) near Los Angeles. He earned his first jet type rating in 1978.
Today, Udvar-Hazy has more than 11,000 hours total flight time, including more than 9,000 hours as captain in multi-engine jet aircraft, and has been a certificated FAA airline transport pilot (ATP) for 37 years. He is type rated on the Gulfstream IV, V and G650 (which he uses for both domestic and international missions), in addition to Learjets and the Cessna Citation CE500 and CE680 families.
Udvar-Hazy is also a steadfast advocate for continuous flight training, utilizing FlightSafety International for annual proficiency and recurrent training since the 1980s.
Throughout his life, flying combined Udvar-Hazy’s personal passion with his professional ambitions. In 1973, he helped revolutionize the commercial aircraft market by co-founding International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), creating new pathways for airlines around the world to acquire aircraft. He later founded Air Lease Corporation after leaving ILFC in 2010.
Udvar-Hazy further channeled his enduring love of aviation into the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center, a companion facility to the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. Opened in December 2003, the center’s collection also includes thousands of aviation and space artifacts, in addition to the Space Shuttle.
NBAA supported the creation of the center, which today houses a permanent business aviation exhibition, highlighting the industry’s many contributions to communities across the country and around the world. The NBAA exhibit features several pivotal business aircraft, with legendary pilot Bob Hoover’s iconic Rockwell Shrike Commander at its center.
Udvar-Hazy’s commitment to furthering aviation education and excellence also includes the Christine and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Library and Learning Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott, AZ, campus, which supports the next generation of pilots and aviation professionals. Udvar-Hazy also provides annual scholarships to students at both Embry-Riddle and Purdue University through the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading Foundation.
