Mark your calendars.... Aero-News has learned the 17th Annual Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame (MAHOF) banquet and induction ceremony will be held Saturday, May 13, 2006, at the Ramada Mall of America/Thunderbird Convention Center in Bloomington, MN. The program is presented by the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame, Incorporated, along with the Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation.

This year’s event will feature the induction of six Minnesota aviation personalities into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame. Each inductee has made a significant contribution to the development and progress of aviation in Minnesota and the Nation, They will each be honored with a special plaque and a brief reading of their accomplishments in aviation.

Master of Ceremonies Stan Ross, and MAHOF Chairman Noel Allard will host the induction ceremony and awards program.

The inductees for 2005 will include Logan L. Coombs, Major General Patrick J. Halloran, Bruce R. Hanson, James P. Hanson, Louis E. Koerner, and Robert N. Steinbrunn.

In addition to the MAHOF inductees, there will be recognition of the best aviation writing for 2005 and the Minnesota Aviation Artist of the Year. Bob Cary and Jack Hautala have been named the best writers, and Randy Arneson was selected as the best aviation artist.

Each year, MAHOF also sponsors a scholarship for a young student pilot. It is given in recognition of not only the new pilot’s efforts, but also in recognition of the responsibility to provide an educational opportunity for the generation of the future.

MAHOF was established in 1988 at the request of employees of the Mn/DOT Office of Aeronautics. Each spring since 1989, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet has been attended by members of the Minnesota aviation community along with the inductees' families and supporters.

There are currently 117 individuals in the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame, not inclusing the new inductees. Plaques for MAHOF inductees are on display at the Duluth Airport terminal.

FMI: www.mnaviationhalloffame.org/