More of this year’s award honorees and inductees will be announced in two weeks. Living Legends of Aviation Awards Photo
The 13th Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards have announced the names of several honorees and inductees to be honored at the Jan. 22 awards dinner at the Beverly Hilton.
Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a children’s aviation 501, which produces the awards as its annual fundraiser, recently announced that Thomas Flohr, founder and chairman of VistaJet, will receive the Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
In 2006, Flohr designed a revolutionary aviation business model focused entirely around clients. The firm is the largest privately owned fleet of aircraft outside the United States. VistaJet is the world’s fastest growing private aviation company with a fleet of Bombardier aircraft based across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and West Africa with their multilingual staff based across the globe.
The Living Legends of Aviation have also announced that Bill Chiles will receive the prestigious Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award, which is presented by Bell Helicopter.
Chiles graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Petroleum Land Management and an MBA at Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1972.
In 2014, he retired as president and CEO of Bristow Group, a leading provider of helicopter services to the worldwide offshore energy industry with 500 helicopters flying in 22 countries and 5,000 employees. Bristow Group grew from $400 million in revenue in 2004 to almost $2 billion by 2014.
He continues to serve as a senior advisor and CEO emeritus through July 2016. He is a co-managing partner of Pelican Energy Partners, a private equity firm specializing in investments in the energy service sector.
Miles O’Brien will receive the Aviation Inspiration and Patriotism Award.
O’Brien is an instrument rated pilot, veteran freelance broadcast and web journalist who focuses on science, technology and aerospace.
He is the science correspondent for PBS NewsHour, a regular correspondent for the PBS documentary series Frontline and the National Science Foundation Science Nation series.
For nearly 17 of his 30 years in the news business, he worked for CNN as the science and space correspondent and the anchor of various programs, including American Morning.
New inductions into the Living Legends of Aviation include Richard Tracy of Aerion, inventor of the supersonic airplane being developed at Airbus facilities and Daniel Wolfe, chief pilot and general manager of the Nationwide Insurance Flight Department.
More of this year’s award honorees and inductees will be announced in two weeks.
The announcement will include the Lifetime Aviation Industry Leader and Harrison Ford’s Aviation Legacy Award choice for 2016. Bob Hoover will also be on stage to present his Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight Award.
