Penny Hamilton Receives 2020 Spirit of Flight Award

Kim Stevens Colorado

Penny Rafferty Hamilton, Ph.D., received the 12th Annual Spirit of Flight Award at the annual Spirit of Flight Day held as an outdoor event at the new Spirit of Flight (SOF) location in Westminster, Colorado, close to the Rocky Mountain Metro Airport.

Penny Hamilton

For over ten years, Dr. Hamilton has supported the mission of Spirit of Flight Foundation to acquire, restore, preserve and display aviation history to honor all American veterans, to educate the general public of the significance of aviation, and to inspire future generations to become involved in aviation and/or aviation history. Hamilton was inducted into both the Colorado Aviation and Women’s Halls of Fame.

Her current book is Inspiring Words for Sky & Space Women: Advice from Historic and Contemporary Trailblazers. Dr. Hamilton is the co-founder of the Grand County Historical Association Emily Warner Field Aviation Museum. Penny is a member of the Colorado Chapter of the International Ninety-Nines, Colorado Pilots Association, and the AOPA Airport Support Network Volunteer for Grand/Grand County Airport. She is a member of Women in Aviation International. Recently, Penny authored the national aviation history book, America’s Amazing Airports, donating a portion of the proceeds from this important book to the Spirit of Flight mission. Available in print and eBook at www.Amazon.com.   Hamilton is a frequent contributor to State Aviation Journal.

Hamilton joins a prestigious group of stellar past award recipients beginning with Michael Castro, Jr. (2013), Bruce Jastrzebski (2014), Fred “Muff” Davis and Just For fun Car Club (2015), Tim Guerrero of Redstone College (2016), Josh Woolley of Centennial Leasing Northern Colorado (2017), Bob Freeman and Mark Stevens of Earth Flight Jet Dragster (2018), and Laura and Tom Larkin (2019).

The Spirit of Flight collection has been relocated. Looking to the future and the building of a new facility, aviation history continues to be promoted. Conveniently located in Westminster, Colorado at 11025 Dover Street, Suite 600, the world-class History Gallery is now open by appointment and is also open on Spotlight on History days. Visit the SOF web site for featured events at www.spiritofflight.com.  

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.