Joins Husband, John, as Wright Brothers Master Pilot
John and Martha King, husband and wife founders of King Schools, are among the world’s most widely recognized flight-instructors.
In 2008, the pair was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum, and in 2019, they were inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
That John and Martha King have been richly and rightly acknowledged for their contributions to general aviation is certain—just as it’s certain that continuing achievement merits continuing distinction.
That axiomatic truth was instantiated at EAA AirVenture 2022, where Martha King was honored with the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and feted by FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen—who presented Mrs. King with a commemorative plaque.
Administrator Nolen remarked after Martha left the stage: “This isn’t in my prepared remarks, but I just have to say it. After thanking Martha, I will say that her tapes are the reason I am standing here. When I became an airline pilot it was the King tapes that I used on my flight engineer written that I had to take and be able to pass. And I used her in my ATP training as well. You are a great contributor to my successful journey and the arc of my career. Thank you again, Martha, for everything you are doing.”
During an AirVenture presentation, Aviation Safety Airworthiness FAASTeam Program Manager Ken Kelley chronicled Mrs. King’s certificate history:
Student Pilot 1969, Private Pilot 1969, Instrument Rating 1970, Commercial Pilot 1974, Flight Instructor 1974, and Airline Transport Pilot 1977.
Mister Kelley also listed her certificate privileges:
ATP Privileges: Airplane Single & Multi-Engine Land & Sea, and Rotorcraft Helicopter.
Commercial Privileges: Rotorcraft Gyroplane, Glider, Lighter-Than-Air Balloon and Lighter-Than-Air Airship.
Type ratings: Falcon 10, LearJet, Citation 500, Eclipse 500S, and Citation Mustang 510S.
All seven Flight Instructor ratings: Airplane Single and Multi-engine, Rotorcraft Helicopter and Gyroplane, Instrument Airplane and Helicopter, Glider. Plus, Advanced and Instrument Ground Instructor.
Mister Kelley further praised Martha’s aviation contributions by saying, “Martha and her fellow Master Pilot John used technology and clear, simple and fun teaching to make aviation knowledge more accessible to pilots. They have sold more than 700,000 video-based knowledge courses and have had millions of short-subject video views of their ‘Take-off’ courses. Martha and John pioneered ground-breaking courses and vocabulary on aviation risk management.”
John King received his FAA Master Pilot Award in 2014. Mister Kelley asserted: “I have to do some checking, but John and Martha might be the only—or certainly one of just a few—couples to be awarded the Master Pilot designation.”
The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award is the most prestigious award the FAA issues to pilots certificated under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 61.
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