Elling Halvorson Receives Vertical Flight Hall Of Fame Award | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Thu, Jan 22, 2015

Elling Halvorson Receives Vertical Flight Hall Of Fame Award

Bell Helicopter Honored The Industry Veteran At The Living Legends Of Aviation Awards

Bell Helicopter honored Papillon Helicopters founder Elling Halvorson with the Bell Helicopter Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award at the 12th annual Living Legends Of Aviation Awards in Beverly Hills on January 16. The award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the rotorcraft industry.

“I’m truly honored to be awarded with the Bell Helicopter Vertical Flight Hall of Fame award,” said Elling Halvorson. “I’ve been presented many opportunities throughout my life to witness the inspiring work aviation yields and every day I’m humbled by the wonderful experiences we see in the aviation industry.”

Elling is the founder of Papillon Helicopters, the world’s oldest and largest sightseeing company flying an estimated 600,000 passengers a year on its daily tours to the Grand Canyon. He began his story in 1963 when he won a bid to build a water pipeline that stretched 13.5 miles across the Grand Canyon on some of the most difficult terrain in the world. The project turned out to be the single largest helicopter supported construction job ever completed, using more than 25,000 hours of helicopter flight time and six different models of helicopters, including a Bell 204. Elling has demonstrated superior vertical lift capability through his proven success on projects benefitting construction, utility, travel and tourism.

Matt Hasik, Bell Helicopter’s Executive Vice President of Commercial Business, presented Elling with the Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award statuette. “A visionary, an innovator and a leader in the helicopter industry, Elling is a true pioneer for aviation,” said Hasik. “He continues to share his expertise and passion around the world, and we admire and appreciate his tireless efforts and infectious enthusiasm for the industry.”

Among Elling’s many career accomplishments, he also formed the Tour Operators Program of Safety (TOPS), which is a national organization dedicated to safety as its top priority. TOPS mission is to make helicopter sightseeing tours among the safest type of flying possible. In addition, Elling also developed the “Whisper Jet” helicopter that was certified by NASA as the world’s quietest helicopter and served two terms as Chairman of the Board of the Helicopters Association International (HAI).

Recipients of the Living Legends of Aviation Award include Buzz Aldrin, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoover, Kurt Russell and Sully Sullenberger. The event is produced by the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy and Bell Helicopter is a presenting sponsor of the annual event.

(Image provided by Bell Helicopter)

FMI: www.bellhelicopter.com

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC