Former director of the Illinois Division of Aeronautics, Bill Blake, is a 2011 inductee into the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame
. Blake, an attorney and former Army aviator, is currently the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA) Great Lakes Region Representative.
Blake served as state aviation director for seven years from 1992 to 1999 and was also on the National Association of State Aviation Officials board of directors. He was Vice-Chairman of that organization at the time of his retirement.
The Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame referenced Blake’s development of the state aeronautics division’s Aviation Wannabe program for adults ages 30 to 60 who wanted to become pilots, with its special focus on recruiting women into aviation. The program was honored with a national award.
According to AOPA, as a regional representative, Blake has led opposition to aircraft luxury taxes and cuts to general aviation airport budgets. He worked hard to defend Meigs Field in Chicago, which was shut down in March 2003 by then-Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Blake is a commercial pilot with over 6,000 hours with instrument, multiengine and helicopter ratings and is type-rated in Lear jets and SK-58 helicopters. He holds the Army’s Senior Aviator Badge and recently received the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of accident-free flying.
Blake is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Commerce, the Georgetown University Law center in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and has served on numerous community boards. His wife, Nancy, is an instrument-rated private pilot. They have two married children and six grandchildren.
The Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame Banquet & Induction Ceremonies will be held on May 25th in Springfield. For more information go to http://www.ilavhalloffame.org/newsletter.htm
