First Annual Competition Puts The Vote To The Public

Six of the world's finest restored vintage aircraft will travel to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh this summer to participate in the National Aviation Hall of Fame's first "Best of the Best" People's Choice Award competition. These aircraft will be showcased at EAA AirVenture, "The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration," on July 23-29 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.

AirVenture visitors will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite among these restored vintage aircraft. All six vintage aircraft have been masterfully restored to virtually like-new condition and are great examples of our rich aviation history.  The National Aviation Hall of Fame and the National Aviation Heritage Invitational (NAHI) joined together to create and sponsor the competition.

The aircraft scheduled to appear are all former winners of various NAHI events held throughout the country since 1999. They include the Lockheed P-38 "Glacier Girl" (owned by Rod Lewis, shown below); Piper L-4 (owned by June and Colin Powers); Spartan Executive (owned by Kent and Sandy Blankenburg; type shown at bottom); Fairchild KR-21 (owned by Pat McNerney); Grumman Duck (owned by Chuck Greenhill); and Waco ATO (owned by Alan Hoeweler).

"We at EAA are truly excited about hosting these magnificent aircraft," said Adam Smith, EAA Vice President/Outreach. "This program allows the public to vote on their personal favorite from the group, each of which is a masterful example of aircraft restoration."

The presentation of the "Best of the Best" trophy will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 28 at EAA AirVenture. Representatives of the Hall of Fame, EAA and NAHI will be joined by several enshrinees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame in the trophy presentation.

This activity undertakes a completely different selection process than that for EAA's legendary "Lindys," awards presented each year to recognize top aviation construction and restoration efforts. The EAA awards are based on a strict set of judging criteria, while the "Best of the Best" program crosses traditional aircraft categories and relies on public-preference voting.

The National Aviation Heritage Invitational promotes aircraft restoration via friendly competition, bringing valuable aviation treasures together in one venue. This endeavor is a joint effort under the auspices of Rolls-Royce North America Inc., the National Aviation Hall of Fame, the Reno Air Racing Foundation and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

FMI: www.airventure.org