{"id":17634,"date":"2021-02-08T12:51:10","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T12:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saj.pachecostudios.com?p=17634"},"modified":"2021-02-08T20:38:19","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T20:38:19","slug":"aopa-honors-remarkable-aviators-at-fifth-annual-hoover-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/aopa-honors-remarkable-aviators-at-fifth-annual-hoover-awards\/%20","title":{"rendered":"AOPA Honors Remarkable Aviators at Fifth Annual Hoover Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Above photo – Retired Tuskegee Airman Col. Charles McGee. Photo courtesy of David Tulis, AOPA.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association honored a group\nof accomplished aviators during a February 3 virtual presentation of the fifth\nannual R.A. \u201cBob\u201d Hoover Trophy Awards. Designer Burt Rutan, retired U.S. Air\nForce Brig. Gen. Charles McGee, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kenyatta Ruffin, and\nBRS Aerospace founder Boris Popov were all recognized for exemplifying courage,\nperseverance, and service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airshow announcer Rob Reider hosted the one-hour event with AOPA\nPresident Mark Baker, who dedicated the evening \u201cto honor four remarkable\naviators\u201d who are following in the steps of the legendary Hoover. The ceremony\ncelebrated the 2020 award winners because that event was canceled last year by\nthe coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile he was a very humble man, Bob Hoover radiated a\nremarkable spirit and overcame many obstacles in his life’s journey to become\nan inspiring and motivating, innovative pilot\u2014not the least of which was\nsurviving (and escaping) a POW camp during World War II,\u201d Baker said. \u201cIt’s in\nthis spirit for adventure, and for giving back to the aviation community, why\nthis award and this evening exists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Burt Rutan. Photo courtesy of David Tulis, AOPA.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Rutan was honored with the highest honor of the night, the\nR.A. \u201cBob\u201d Hoover Trophy for exhibiting \u201cthe airmanship, leadership, and\npassion for aviation\u201d that Hoover had, as well as for having a \u201cdistinguished\ncareer as a pilot and aviation advocate while also serving as a source of\ninspiration and encouragement for current and prospective aviators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rutan has designed 49 aircraft, including Voyager, which\nflew around the world in 1986, and SpaceShipOne, which put the first civilian\nastronaut in space in 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rutan is well known as an innovator, but he was also one of \u201cHoover\u2019s Heroes.\u201d Actor, pilot, and aviation advocate Harrison Ford and airshow performer and aviation mentor Sean D. Tucker noted in special tributes recorded for the evening presentation. The late Hoover admired Rutan and the aircraft he designed. \u201cHe is someone I have admired for his many contributions to\naviation over the years,\u201d Baker said, announcing the award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Rutan\u2019s goals that he achieved was designing a stall-resistant airplane\u2014the VariViggen\u2014to reduce the number of stall\/loss-of-control accidents. He revolutionized the homebuilt world by designing composite aircraft in part because he discovered that he could build and flight test a composite aircraft within one year. The Long-EZ is one of Rutan\u2019s popular designs, and more than 2,000 of them are flying. \u201cYou gotta have some courage\u201d to design and be the first to\nfly your own aircraft, Rutan said, while accepting the honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rutan recalled the first time he met Hoover 47 years ago at\na Reno Air Race where Hoover agreed to fly the Bede BD\u20135J, which had only made\na couple of flights before that. Rutan left viewers in suspense regarding\nHoover\u2019s first flight in the jet, saying that the full story will be included\nin the memoir that he is currently writing and will be available free for\ndownload to everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Rutan has been on the leading edge of aviation\ndesign and innovation for decades, one viewer sought his opinion on the eVTOL\ndesigns circulating in the aviation industry. The roughly 150 eVTOL companies\nworldwide \u201care all doing it wrong,\u201d Rutan quipped, adding that he has an idea\nthat he believes will be \u201ckind of cool.\u201d If it gets built, Rutan said, it will\nbe his fiftieth research airplane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rutan joins Clay Lacy, Harrison Ford, Sean D. Tucker, and\nBob Hoover himself as recipients of the annual award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Aviation Inspiration Award<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGee, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, was honored with the\ninaugural Aviation Inspiration Award that bears his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, McGee fought two wars at\nonce during World War II, one against fascism in Europe and the other against\nracism in the United States. McGee, now 101, persevered to make the world a\nbetter place, and he encourages others to do the same. In a pre-recorded\nmessage, he encouraged young people to follow four Ps: perceive, prepare with a\ngood education, perform to the best of their ability, and persevere despite\ntheir circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis 138 combat missions are just one part of General\nMcGee\u2019s story,\u201d Baker said. \u201cHe has been a trailblazer for generations of\naviators. He has enabled thousands of enthusiasts to follow dreams\u2014 who might\nnot have had a chance to climb into the cockpit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kenyatta Ruffin. Photo courtesy of David Tulis, AOPA. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Baker also presented the award to another \u201caviator and hero\nin the name of General McGee\u201d: Ruffin, an F\u201316 pilot and commander of the 71st\nOperations Support Squadron. Ruffin soloed a glider at age 14; became a flight\ninstructor; founded a flight school; helped found a STEM summer camp; and\nfounded the Legacy Flight Academy, which works to preserve and grow the legacy\nof the Tuskegee Airmen and gives young people a first flight in a general\naviation aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you so much, Mark, and a \u201c\u2026 special thank you to Brig.\nGen. McGee. Truly, you sir, have been an inspiration to me for so long, and\nit\u2019s just unfathomable that I would be here, receiving an award in your\nnamesake,\u201d Ruffin said. Ruffin explained that his mother taught him that \u201cTo\nwhom much is given, much is required, and General McGee has given me, has given\nus, and truly given the world so much that there is no way that I could live my\nlife without honoring his gifts of freedom, service, and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Aviation Safety Award<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSafety is our DNA here at AOPA,\u201d Baker said, introducing\nAOPA Air Safety Institute Senior Vice President Richard McSpadden, who\npresented the 2020 General Aviation Safety Award to Popov. \u201cWe\u2019ve been able to\ndrive the general aviation safety accident rate down year after year thanks to\npeople like Boris,\u201d McSpadden said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popov designed the whole-airframe parachute concept after he\nsurvived a hang gliding accident. Popov was hang gliding behind a boat when a\nmiscommunication caused the boater to speed up instead of slow down, making the\nhang glider pitch up dramatically. Popov fell 500 feet and hit the water,\nknocking the fillings out of his teeth. He decided then to develop a parachute\nsafety device to help prevent similar accidents. The concept expanded and was\napproved for ultralights and experimental aircraft. Later, it was approved for\ninstallation on certified aircraft, and now more than 30,000 general aviation\naircraft are equipped with BRS parachutes. Cirrus was the first manufacturer to\ninstall the parachute as standard equipment on aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popov said the award was \u201ca precious tribute\u201d to all who worked diligently to help develop the BRS parachute. More than 438 lives have been saved to date, Popov said, asking viewers to imagine the families and businesses whose loved ones and employees were saved as well as the benefit to general aviation through fewer fatal accidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch the replay of the awards here<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Above photo – Retired Tuskegee Airman Col. Charles McGee. Photo courtesy of David Tulis, AOPA. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association honored a group of accomplished aviators during a February 3 virtual presentation of the fifth annual R.A. \u201cBob\u201d Hoover Trophy Awards. Designer Burt Rutan, retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles McGee, U.S. Air […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-front-page-slider","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Retired-Tuskegee-Airman-Col.-Charles-McGee.-Photo-courtesy-of-David-Tulis-AOPA..jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17634"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17645,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17634\/revisions\/17645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}