July 22, 2020 Newsbite
Dear NAA Members and Friends,
This week, as NAA celebrates the 51st anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and humankind’s first steps on the moon, we also can’t help but reminisce about the presentation of the NAA Wright Brother’s Memorial Trophy to pioneering Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins at the Aero Club of Washington’s Wright Memorial Dinner last December. Honoring Michael Collins, who embodies the true spirit of the trophy for his significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States, was one of the highlights of 2019.
This memorable award presentation would not have been possible without a robust nomination process for the Wright Brother’s Memorial Trophy and the near dozen other awards administered by NAA. Our organization relies heavily on our members and the broader aviation community to put forth qualified and accomplished nominees who meet the criteria for our awards. You can help NAA to celebrate the past and invent the future by submitting a nomination for the following awards with upcoming nomination deadlines:
Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy: Nominations due August 15
Distinguished Statesman and Stateswoman of Aviation Awards: Nominations due August 31
Brewer Trophy: Nominations due August 31
Public Benefit Flying Awards: Nominations due August 31
For questions regarding NAA awards, please contact Stephanie Griffith, Director of Awards, Events, and Membership.
Are you sad that 2020 air shows have been cancelled? Do you miss the roar of the engines and the heart stopping thrill of seeing the best pilots in the world do the unimaginable? Then our next webinar, “Aerobatics and Air Shows: Get Your Fix!” on July 24 is for you! Join NAA and the National Aviation Hall of Fame for a conversation with the best in the biz: Patty Wagstaff, Julie Clark, Vicki Benzing, and Peggy Reidinger. Register today to get your air show fix!
Speaking of air shows, while we can’t all gather together in Oshkosh this week, we can still celebrate aviation through the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) Spirit of Aviation Week. Now through July 25, EAA will showcase the spectrum of flight in a new, virtual way. The event will include streamed and on-demand content, encompassing nearly every subset of aviation, with a focus on education, information, and entertaining content. Highlights include discussions with notable leaders in aviation, homebuilding workshops, and a virtual exhibit space showcasing products and services available from hundreds of AirVenture exhibitors. Virtual attendees can also share their favorite aviation experiences on social media using #EAAtogether!
The Aero Club of Northern California has announced their upcoming line up of guest speakers for their webinar series. On July 23, the Aero Club of Northern California will host Jeff Homola from the NASA Ames Research Center, who will discuss new and exciting research in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). Future speakers also include Paul Marshall, Disaster Air Lift Response Team (DART) on August 6, Steve Rubke, 747 Pilot, on August 20, and John Olson, Angel Flight West on September 3.
We hope that this newsbite has provided you with a variety of ways to continue to stay engaged in the aerospace community during these socially distant times. If your organization is hosting a virtual event that you would like NAA to feature in an upcoming newsbite, please email Stephanie Griffith.
