Recognized For Contributions To Ultralight, LSA

The Aero Club of New England recently honored decades of accomplishments by Tom Peghiny, a lifetime resident of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The award recognizes those individuals from New England who made substantial contributions to aviation.

The Aero Club of New England is the oldest aeronautical club in the United States and the Americas, and is the second oldest such organization in the world.

To those in the light-sport aircraft community, Peghiny is already a recognized name. As president of Flight Design USA, the importer of the Flight Design CT line of aircraft has achieved and maintained market leading status since the first Special Light-Sport Aircraft were approved in April of 2005. Peghiny also chaired the ASTM Airplane Committee during its benchmark creation of industry consensus standards covering the majority of LSA now available for sale.

In addition to his work in the LSA industry, Peghiny took leadership roles in other aircraft segments, first in hang gliding -- where he was an innovative designer and the winner of more flight competitions than any other pilot at the time -- and in ultralight aviation. The Flightstar ultralight series sold over 1,000 aircraft, the Aero Club notes, thanks largely to Peghiny's effort.

Joe Gauthier, who won the same award in 2004 and whose work includes being a Designated Airworthiness Representative inspecting Light-Sport Aircraft, presented the honor to Peghiny.

Tom Peghiny has earned a reputation in the LSA community as a smart yet caring person who is always willing to help, even his competitors. Though his leading company has often blazed new trails in LSA development, Tom has frequently shared details of his success with other industry leaders, thereby assisting them in developing good aircraft, successful infrastructure, and proper documentation.

"Aviation has been my life since I was a teenager," Peghiny said, "and I am deeply concerned that we provide the best safety and value to customers who choose to become involved with flying a Light-Sport Aircraft."

Flight Design USA is the US importer of the CT series from Germany. The company has succeeded in delivering more than 245 aircraft to its network of distributors and dealers.

FMI: www.acone.org, www.flightdesignusa.com