Sharples And Hartranft Awards Presented At AOPA Expo 2005 | 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

Sun, Nov 06, 2005

Sharples And Hartranft Awards Presented At AOPA Expo 2005

MN Congressman And DET Advocate Honored For Their Work In GA

At a banquet on the last night of AOPA Expo 2005, the Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association recognized two individuals who each have made great contributions to both local and national general aviation causes.

Euel Kinsey, AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer at Coleman A. Young/Detroit City Airport (DET) in Detroit, MI was recognized Saturday night for his work in helping to preserve the airport by awarding him the 2005 Laurence P. Sharples Perpetual Award, the most prestigious award given by AOPA to a private citizen.

AOPA told Aero-News the award recognizes great and selfless commitment to GA by a private individual.

"Euel is a great example of an Airport Support Network volunteer," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.  "His efforts resulted in greater awareness of Detroit City Airport's importance in the community, and the importance of general aviation nationwide."

In Detroit, Kinsey (below)  faced down the mayor of the nation's 6th largest city who proposed a citywide budget that cut about 18 of the 23 jobs on the airport and provided no future monetary support for it.  Kinsey mounted a full-fledged political and media campaign, educating the city council about the airport's importance to Detroit and particularly its financial benefits in light of the recent All Star Game and upcoming Super Bowl -- even in the face of budget and staff cuts.

Throughout his fight, Kinsey -- an attorney and aircraft owner -- became a local fixture on radio and newspaper in the Detroit area. In the end, Kinsey was successful in persuading the Detroit City Council to veto the mayor's planned budget -- a nearly unprecedented occurrence.

Also recognized at the AOPA event was 15-term US Congressman James L. Oberstar (D-MN), winner of the J.B. "Doc" Hartranft Award for his work in the 109th congress helping to preserve airports. The award is AOPA's highest honor for a government official.

"Jim has been a friend of AOPA's for many years and is recognized by his peers and by the aviation community as an aviation expert," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.  "As the Ranking Member of the US House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Jim has an influential role and has served the aviation community well."

According to AOPA, Oberstar's leadership in passing landmark legislation over the years has included the General Aviation Product Liability Reform bill, numerous multi-year aviation funding bills such as the historic AIR-21 and VISION-100 measures that dramatically increased federal funding available for important improvements and protections of GA airports.  Oberstar (above) has been tenacious in acting to ensure that much-needed resources paid into the aviation trust fund reach GA airports across the country.

Oberstar -- previously recognized by the AOPA ASF for his advocacy of aviation safety -- has also been "a voice of reason" in the fury of opinion and emotion throughout the Washington D.C. ADIZ-incursion debate.

FMI: www.aopa.org

Advertisement

More News

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (07.11.25)

“Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let’s launch.” Source: SecTrans Sean Duffy commenting after President Donald Trump appointed U.S. Secret>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (07.11.25): Permanent Echo

Permanent Echo Radar signals reflected from fixed objects on the earth's surface; e.g., buildings, towers, terrain. Permanent echoes are distinguished from “ground clutter&rd>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.11.25)

Aero Linx: European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) The general aim of the EHPU is to promote and protect hang gliding and paragliding in Europe. In order to achieve this>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Schweizer SGS 2-33A

Glider Encountered A Loss Of Lift And There Was Not Sufficient Altitude To Reach The Airport Analysis: The flight instructor reported that while turning final, the glider encounter>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Aeronca 7AC

Airplane Climbed To 100 Ft Above Ground Level, At Which Time The Airplane Experienced A Total Loss Of Engine Power On May 24, 2025, at 1300 eastern daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC, N>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

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