The Envelope, Please...
In each of the past 43 years, the General Aviation Awards
Program and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have
recognized a small group of aviation professionals in the fields of
flight instruction, aviation maintenance, avionics and safety for
their contributions to aviation safety and education.
This awards program is a cooperative effort between the FAA and
a dozen industry sponsors. The selection process begins at
local Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) and then moves on to
the nine regional FAA offices. Panels of aviation
professionals within the various fields then select national
winners from the pool of regional awardees.
Recipients of this year's national awards are:
- Richard Loren "Rich" Stowell of Ventura, CA, Certificated
Flight Instructor (CFI) of the Year
- Eugene Charles "Gene" Hudson of Mission Hills, CA, Aviation
Safety Counselor (ASC) of the Year;
- Joseph Clemens "Joe" Hawkins of Murfreesboro, TN, Aviation
Maintenance Technician (AMT) of the Year; and
- Terry David Markovich of Bedminster, NJ, Avionics Technician of
the Year.
FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will present the national awards
in July during a "Theater in the Woods" program at EAA AirVenture
2006 in Oshkosh, WI.
"These awards highlight the important role played by these
individuals in promoting aviation education and flight safety,"
said JoAnn Hill, General Aviation Awards Committee chairperson.
"The awards program sponsors are pleased that these outstanding
aviation professionals will receive the recognition they so richly
deserve before their peers in Oshkosh."
2006 CFI Of The Year
Master CFI-Aerobatic Rich Stowell (below), a resident of
Ventura, CA specializes in spin, emergency maneuver, aerobatic, and
tailwheel training. When not conducting training clinics
nationwide, he instructs at CP Aviation, Inc, a Part 61 flight
school at Santa Paula Airport (SZP).
As a teenager growing up in Northwestern New Jersey in the
1970s, Stowell was inspired by the performances of aerobatic
legends Leo Loudenslager and Betty Stewart during the annual Sussex
Airshow. In 1982, he took his first flying lesson at Sussex Airport
in a Piper Cherokee 140. Two years and 84 hours total time later,
he began aerobatic training in a Super Decathlon. Work as a
consulting engineer eventually took him to Southern California,
where he would spend weekends flying aerobatics from Santa Paula
Airport. In 1987, his then-girlfriend (now wife) made a suggestion:
"Why not quit your job and give instructing a try for a year?"
Completely immersed in aviation, Stowell developed and promoted
the EMT (Emergency Maneuver Training) Program. Spinning with pilots
from all over the world led to the development of his trademark
PARE spin recovery checklist. Designated an "Official Spin Doctor"
by the International Aerobatic Club (IAC), Stowell has performed
more than 26,800 spins with students - the equivalent to nearly
1,300 vertical miles while spinning.
Articles about Stowell's teaching techniques have appeared in
Sport Pilot, Flying, AOPA Pilot, and Air & Space magazines, to
name a few. He has scripted several aviation videos, including the
FAA's "Loss of Control" series, and has written numerous articles
for publications such as Aviation Safety, Plane & Pilot, and
Flight Training magazines. He has authored three aviation books.
The newest, available later this year, is entitled The Light
Airplane Pilot's Guide to Stall/Spin Awareness.
Stowell conducts numerous safety seminars annually,
crisscrossing the US from Alaska to Florida, California to
Massachusetts. He has given seminars and instruction in Canada as
well as Indonesia and Japan. He also maintains the Aviation
Learning Center web site. Stowell upgrades his own
piloting skills by participating in the FAA Wings and IAC
Achievement Awards Programs. Holder of NAFI's first Master
CFI-Aerobatic accreditation, he also serves as an FAA Aviation
Safety Counselor and is a member of AOPA, EAA, IAC, and
NAFI.
Stowell represented the Van Nuys FSDO
and the FAA's Western Pacific Region. This year's other regional
CFI winners include:
- Master CFI Michael Berlin of West Hartford, CT (FAA's New
England Region)
- Janice Gray Driscoll of Kernersville, NC (FAA's Southern
Region)
- Master CFI Helen D "Pat" Knight of Naperville, IL (FAA's Great
Lakes Region)
- Master CFI Janice Walton of Marion, IA (FAA's Central
Region)
- Charles "Bud" Welch of Arkadelphia, AR (FAA's Southwest
Region).
2006 ASC Of The Year
Master CFI Gene Hudson (below) , a resident of Mission Hills, CA
is the chief flight instructor and president of Gene Hudson Flight
Training, a Part 61 flight school at Van Nuys Airport
(VNY). He specializes in instrument, high-performance and
technically advanced aircraft training.
His interest in aviation developed early while building plastic
and balsawood model aircraft. That led to becoming a cadet in the
Civil Air Patrol where, in 1971, he had his first flight in a
Cessna 150. For the next ten years, his flight training was put on
hold because of high school, college and a 4-year stint in the US
Army's signal corps. Finally in the mid-1980s, he was able to
acquire the necessary certificates and ratings to become a flight
instructor, a profession he has practiced since 1987.
An Aviation Safety Counselor (ASC) for more than 18 years, his
skills as a lecturer are widely known in southern California. He
regularly offers WINGS safety seminars to standing-room-only crowds
on such topics as instrument flying techniques, airspace, landings
and the human factors of flight. He also lectures to local pilot
examiners on human factors and the psychology of pilot error as a
part of their annual recurrency training. In each of the past two
years, he has made presentations at EAA's AirVenture and AOPA's
Expo. In addition, the FAA frequently calls upon him to provide
remedial training to pilots as a substitute for certificate
enforcement action.
Hudson also promotes aviation safety through the written word.
His articles have appeared in Plane & Pilot, Private Pilot and
SoCal Aviation Review as well as the US Air Force Flight Safety
magazine. He is the author of one book, Instrument Flying Made
Easy, and is currently working on a companion volume that will help
pilots recognize and recover from vacuum and other failures in
instrument conditions.
Continuing to upgrade his own aviation skills, he has taken
advanced training to become a Cirrus Standardized Instructor and
teaches in the Cessna Pilots Association's operations course. In
2005, Hudson's flight school was named a Cirrus Standardized
Training Center. Holder of Master CFI accreditation, he is a member
of AOPA, EAA and NAFI.
Hudson represented the Van Nuys FSDO
and the FAA's Western Pacific Region. This year's other regional
ASC winners include:
- Air traffic controller Andrew Eugene "Andy" Applegate of
Nashua, NH (FAA's New England Region)
- Randy Lee Coller of Jackson, MI (FAA's Great Lakes
Region)
- Homer Glenn Ellis, CFI & AME, of Fort Smith, AR (FAA's
Southwest Region)
- Air traffic controller Robin Marie Huston of Wichita, KS (FAA's
Central Region)
- Harold Gene "Joe" Johanson of Port Orange, FL (FAA's Southern
Region)
- John Robert Scott, CFI, of Denver, CO (FAA's Northwest Mountain
Region)
- Frank Scotto, CFI, of Brooklyn, NY (FAA's Eastern Region)
2006 AMT Of The Year:
Joe Hawkins (below) has been an airframe & powerplant
(A&P) technician for more almost 30 years and has held
inspection authorization (IA) for 15 of those years.
The seeds that grew into his 3-decade long aviation career were
planted early in life by his grandfather, a World War II Navy
pilot. At age 22, Hawkins joined the US Army where he received his
initial aviation maintenance training. As a CH-47 Chinook
helicopter flight engineer with the 101st Airborne, he earned air
crew wings and an Army Commendation Medal.
In 1979, after his 3-year stint in the Army, he began his
civilian aviation career with Stevens Aviation, first in South
Carolina and later in Nashville. During his tenure at Stevens,
Hawkins was instrumental in creating repair station manuals,
establishing shop routines and safety procedures, enhancing the
customer base and developing personnel training. He also had time
to hone his technical and trouble shooting skills on a wide variety
of general aviation aircraft ranging from Beech Sundowners and Bell
Helicopters to Citations and Learjets.
Hawkins left Stevens in 1991 and took a position as chief
aviation maintenance technician for Tennessee's Department of
Transportation (TDOT) in Nashville. While there, he was responsible
for the maintenance, repair and airworthiness of a fleet of piston
and turbine powered state owned aircraft.
Hearing the call of academia, Hawkins enrolled in Middle
Tennessee State University (MTSU) as a 39-year old freshman. In
1999, he was awarded a BS degree in Aviation Maintenance Management
from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). That was followed
shortly thereafter with a Masters of Education.
After almost a decade as an MTSU student, Hawkins switched roles
and is now an assistant professor in MTSU's Aerospace Department
teaching maintenance management courses in their Part 147
curriculum. He also assists with the maintenance and repair
of the university's two corporate aircraft. A long time FAA
aviation safety counselor, he serves on the steering committee for
Nashville's annual Tennessee Mid-South Aviation Maintenance
Conference. He is also a member of EAA, CAP, UAA and PAMA.
Hawkins represented the Nashville
FSDO as well as the FAA's Southern Region. This year's other
regional AMT winners include:
- Patrick G "Pat" Davis of Lafayette, CO (FAA's Northwest
Mountain Region)
- Donnie Joe Lewellen of Friona, TX (FAA's Southwest Region)
- Leroy Alan Muise of Trenton, ME (FAA's New England Region)
- James "Jim" Tafralian of Howell, MI (FAA's Great Lakes
Region)
- Robert M "Bob" Takamine of Honolulu, HI (FAA's Western Pacific
Region)
2006 Avionics Tech Of The Year:
Terry Markovich (below), a Houston native, has had an interest
in electronics since 1967 when he was eight years old. While a high
school student, he had his first real exposure to the world of
aviation and avionics when a family friend suggested that he apply
for an avionics vocational training position with Atlantic Aviation
in Houston, TX. He started training part time in Atlantic's
avionics department in April of 1977 and upon graduation from high
school, became a full time avionics technician.
After a succession of avionics positions in the Houston area, he
went to Duncan Aviation in 1985 as an
avionics technician and manager of their new Houston avionics shop.
His primary duty was to oversee all avionics service work.
For the next eight years, he served as a technician and manager
in Duncan Aviation's avionics departments in Washington, DC and
Ronkonkoma, New York. At both of those locations, he managed two
separate 3-man avionics shops while providing oversight of all
service and installation work.
In March of 1995, he relocated to Bedminster, NJ and again took
a position with Duncan Aviation in their FAA Part 145 repair
station and avionics department at Teterboro Airport (TEB). There,
he manages an avionics shop with 16 employees while supervising
avionics installations, installation engineering and
troubleshooting in corporate turbine aircraft.
Markovich's lifelong interest in electronics and avionics led to
the creation of his own business, Aviation
Tools, in 2004. While satisfying his engineering
curiosity and his desire to learn more about embedded software
programming, he also designs aviation oriented test equipment. A
member of the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) since 1997,
Markovich has served on AEA's Region I Board of Directors.
An avid mountain biker, snowboarder and windsurfer, Markovich
still finds time outside the shop to pursue his interest in
electronics by reading physics, electrical engineering and software
engineering texts. He also furthers his professional skills and
education by studying new trends in avionics as well as
participating in training courses offered by avionics
manufacturers.
Markovich represented the Teterboro
FSDO and the FAA's Eastern Region.
This year's other regional avionics technician winners were:
- Alan Ray "Al" Hosier of Alma, AR (FAA's Southwest Region)
- Charles Joseph "Chuck" Lirette of Memphis, TN (FAA's Southern
Region)
- Gary Lee Ross of Grand Ledge, MI (FAA's Great Lakes
Region).
The General Aviation Awards program executive committee includes
the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), the National Association of Flight
Instructors (NAFI) and the Professional Aviation Maintenance
Association (PAMA). Additional support and sponsorship are provided
by Women in Aviation International (WAI), the National Business
Aviation Association (NBAA), the National Association of State
Aviation Officials (NASAO), the National Air Transportation
Association (NATA), the Helicopter Association International (HAI),
the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the
Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the Aircraft Owners and
Pilots Association (AOPA) and the Aeronautical Repair Station
Association (ARSA).