The Lone Star Flight Museum (LSFM) hosted the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame (TAHOF) Induction Ceremony and Luncheon for the Class of 2023 on Friday, April 21. More than 300 supporters attended this event held at the museum in the Heritage Hangar among numerous historic aircraft.
This year’s ceremony celebrated the accomplishments of Daniel Baker, Major General Joe H. Engle (ret), Rod Lewis and Edna Gardner Whyte (posthumously). TAHOF members are included in four categories: trailblazers and explorers, wartime aviators, leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators. The 2023 Texas Aviation Hall of Fame inductees join an impressive list of members including Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and George W. Bush, the Doolittle Raiders, Tuskegee Airmen, Bessie Coleman, Eileen Collins, Gene Cernan, Gene Kranz and many more.
Serving as master of ceremonies Doug Owens, LSFM president and chief executive officer, (USAF Lt. General, retired) said, “It is my great honor and privilege to welcome our four newest inductees into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame. From a high-tech innovator and a NASA trailblazer to a WWII aircraft collector and an accomplished female pilot, we are thrilled to celebrate these inductees into Texas Aviation Hall of Fame.”
Owens thanked the museum board of directors, the museum staff, sponsors and supporters for their ongoing support of the museum and recognizing the Class of 2023 and their contributions to aerospace and aviation.
Scott Rozzell, chairman of the board of directors, presented each of the inductees with the official TAHOF medallion, award and letter of commendation from Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
About the Class of 2023
Daniel Baker
Founder of FlightAware, Baker combined his passion for flying, and his career in software development and e-commerce to create the digital flight tracking service in 2005. Sold to Collins Aerospace in 2021, FlightAware is the world’s largest flight tracking data company and provides critical flight data solutions to airlines and private aircraft operators, as well as flight tracking to millions of travelers. FlightAware has offices in Houston, New York, London, and Singapore.
Major General Joe H. Engle (Retired) USAF, ANG
Having flown 185 different types of aircraft including 38 different fighter and attack aircraft, General Engle logged more than 15,000 flight hours – more than 9,000 in jets and over 224 hours in space.
On June 29, 1965, he flew the X-15 to an altitude of 280,600 feet and became the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut. Long considered a pioneer in the space shuttle program, General Engle was the first to have flown into space on two different types of winged vehicles: the X-15 and the Space Shuttle.
Rod Lewis
The son of a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Rod’s passion for both business and aviation drove his success that began with his first well in 1982 and began Lewis Energy Group. His love of flying also grew and in 1981, purchased his first plane, a hand cranked Aeronca. Lewis came to own 80 aircraft, including thirty WWII warbirds that fly as the Lewis Air Legends and the Air Legends Foundation. A member of the Living Legends of Aviation, Lewis shares his love of American history through the amazing WWII warbirds and other aircraft.
Edna Gardner Whyte
From the moment she became a pilot, Edna Gardner Whyte was breaking down barriers as an accomplished female pilot, instructor, and air racer. In her 64 years of flying, she raced and instructed three generations of new pilots, mostly men. She founded the New Orleans Air College and later started a Ft Worth flight school to provide instrument training for military pilots in WWI and beyond. She earned over 125 air race trophies and amassed more than 35,000 flying hours and was a member of the Whirly-Girls, Ninety-Nines, and honorary member of the Order of Daedalians.
2023 Event Sponsors
- Award Sponsor: Anonymous, Collins Aerospace, Patricia Jayne Keefer Foundation;
- Gold Sponsors: Michael Bertuccio, Robin and Marshall Cloyd, Bonnie J. Dunbar, Ph.D., Ed and Pat Noel, Sarah and Ross Perot Foundation, Karen and Scott Rozzell, Bette and Ralph B. Thomas;
- Silver Sponsors: Anonymous, Houston Event Planners, Order of Daedalians, Lisa and Jerry Simon, Jane and Charles Szalkowski, Texas Southern University – Aviation; and,
- VIP Sponsors: Anonymous, 360 AV Design, CC and Duke Ensell, FlightAware, Anthony W. Hall, Jr., Linda and Barry Hunsaker Jr., Lush Flowers, Nancy and Pete Olson and Jerry Roth.
To support the Lone Star Flight Museum and to learn more about the STEM education programs at the only museum in Houston whose exhibits fly, please visit LoneStarFlight.org.
