First-Ever Recipients of ANN's Highest Awards
For
"Contributions to Aviation," reads the inscription of ANN's ANNIE
awards, and six -- the first six ever -- were announced at Oshkosh,
on Friday afternoon.
In a short ceremony attended by just a few select folks, ANN
wanted to publicly recognize people and organizations that have
furthered the cause of aviation, through service, through
innovation, through determination, through plain ol' brilliance.
These awards represent our gratitude for these contributions.
The awardees are:
Bob Hoover
Its no surprise that the folks at ANN, especially ANN
Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell (who literally wrote the book that
detailed Bob's extraordinary mistreatment by, and eventual victory
over, the FAA) think highly of the man that Chuck Yeager
called "the best pilot I ever saw." But as great an aviator as Bob
is, we also know him well as a wholly decent man and an inspiring
industry figurehead. So... the very first ANNie could go to NO
ONE but the legendary Bob Hoover... our friend and an amazing flyer
we all can look to with pride.
Control Vision
We
have rarely seen a company so unsatisfied with its product line...
as evidenced by the fact that every few weeks (or so it seems) they
come up with a way to improve it... and a way that is usually
retrofittable quite easily and affordably by previous owners! The
immense capabilities of the little AnywhereMap have grown to
include extraordinary weather data output, aircraft management,
performance criteria and now, ATTITUDE data. We've never seen
anything like it, especially in such a portable and affordable
package.
XCOR
One of
the most-innovative uses ever made of a Long-EZ, the XCOR
rocket-powered airplane is a proof-of-concept machine only; but
what a concept! Jeff Greason has been trying to convince people
that rocket power is a viable idea; so far, through his flights,
which started just a year ago, he's started to make converts. A
flight demonstration at Oshkosh by pilot Dick Rutan showed that the
rocket could, indeed, be used in a go-around.
The Arlington Fly-In
We think it may be one of the friendliest places
on Earth, and it's certainly the most delightful Fly-In we attend
every year. The award was accepted by Fly-In guru Barbara Tolbert,
though the Arlington Fly-In is a labor of love that is the result
of hundreds of volunteers and staffers. It delights and enlightens
tens of thousands of pilots and aero-wannabes every year, and is
easily one of the most pro-aviation events in the nation. For five
days, Arlington is simply the center of the aviation universe
-- and delightfully so. If you ever want to see how an
aviation event should be run, Arlington is THE place to start.
Carter Copters
Another innovator, Jay Carter, has made a lot of
converts, as he has demonstrated that rotorcrafts' old
bugaboo, the Mu1 barrier, may indeed be breakable. Through a series
of out-of-the-box thoughts, careful engineering, good recruitment,
and determination, Jay Carter has shown that even the honest
approach can work. His ANNIE was presented separately, as, during
the official ceremony, the Carter Copter was being wheeled out for
its first-ever public flight demonstration. That demonstration, by
the way, converted thousands...
Howard Fried
A legend among those who have had to pass an FAA
Flight Test; aviation writer, FAA Pilot Examiner, columnist and
author Howard Fried gave thousands of checkrides over the course of
many decades in an aviation career that affected tens of thousands
of flyers worldwide. Better yet, his books, columns and lectures
kept many pilots out of harm's way and educated us all with the
rare insight of an expert flyer who has truly "been there
and done that." Yeah, he's a sweet but cranky ol' bastard who
has also fought the good fight against the FAA and other ills...
and put his money/reputation where his mouth is many times... all
in all proving that Howard is one of the reasons that aviation is
as great as it is.