The Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) has announced that its coveted 2018 Spirit of Flight Award will be presented to The Army Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE) during the 56th Annual Enshrinement Dinner & Ceremony to be held in Washington, D.C., at the National Building Museum on September 28, 2018.
The Spirit of Flight Award, which has been awarded by the NAHF since 1981, is presented to organizations that serve a special need of the nation and set high standards for excellence in the utilization of aerospace assets.
In making the announcement, NAHF Chairman Michael Quiello said, “The USAACE indisputably sets the standard for Army Aviation around the world. From their early days with spotter aircraft to the critical use of versatile aircraft seen in use by the Army today, Army Aviation is a formidable opponent to those who threaten the American way of life.”
Former NAHF Trustee and the current President of the Army Aviation Association of America, BG Steve Mundt, (Ret.), further stated, “We have come a long way since June 6, 1942, when Organic Army Aviation was established in Army Ground Forces with a few Piper Cubs, to today with the Army Aviation Branch and USAACE having established itself as the preeminent Army Aviation Force in the World. USAACE is tasked with training and maintaining this force with more pilots and aircraft than any other service in the DoD. There is no doubt this recognition is richly deserved”.
Past winners include the WWII era “Flying Tigers,” Honor Flight, The Society ot Experimental Test Pilots, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the Nintey-Nines, The Apollo Program and The Boeing Company.
The evening will begin with a reception at 6:00 p.m. with a dinner and program to follow at 7:00 p.m. The National Building Museum is located at 440 G Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C.
The NAHF Class of 2018 is: Colonel R. Walter Cunningham, USMC (Ret), Korean War veteran, fighter pilot and Apollo astronaut; General John R. Dailey, USMC (Ret), Vietnam veteran, fighter pilot, Marine Corps, NASA and NASM leader; the late Mr. William “Bill” Dana, NASA pioneer, engineer and test pilot; and General Ronald R. Fogleman, USAF (Ret), Vietnam veteran, fighter pilot and Air Force Leader.
The NAHF’s Enshrinement Ceremony and Program will include industry giants and over a dozen returning Enshrinees, including astronauts Eileen Collins and Hoot Gibson, Aerospace Leaders Charlie Bolden and Walter Boyne, Dick and Burt Rutan, general aviation titans Dale Klapmeier and Tom Poberezny, WWII triple-ace Bud Anderson and Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee, among others.
The evening will begin with a reception at 6:00 p.m. with a dinner and program to follow at 7:00 p.m. The National Building Museum is located at 440 G St. NW in Washington, D.C.
