Organization Establishes Contest For Development Of New Technology

By Bruce Brandon

Sean Elliott, EAA Senior Vice President Advocacy and Safety, and Charlie Precourt, a member of EAA’s Board of Directors announce a competition Tuesday for a new award, the "Founder’s Innovation Prize."

This competition is intended to make a real difference in flying safety by reducing/preventing loss of control accidents/deaths, the most common cause of GA fatalaties.  Not only will the winner be doing aviation a great service, he/she will win $25,000.

The trophy will awarded to the individual who presents the best idea/product that will reduce the number of deaths/accidents from the loss of control in flight. This award is a continuation of EAA’s leadership role in advancing safety for the aviation community.

The competition is limited to EAA members. Entrants will be narrowed down to five finalist who will “pitch” their idea/product to a celebrity panel in The Theater In The Woods at AirVenture 2016.  From these five will be selected the 1st place ($25,000), 2nd place ($10,000), and 3rd place ($5,000) winners.

The winner’s idea/product must meet three criteria:

• Affect loss of control
• Be economically viable
• Be effective in a broad spectrum of aircraft.

The winning “solution” can be either a physical product, procedure, or other invention/idea that reduces loss of control.
EAA’s goal is to reduce loss of control accidents by 25% in the next five years and by 50% in the next ten years.

To accomplish this, the Founder's Innovation Prize will be awarded annually for safety ideas/products and will be displayed at EAA Headquarters with each winners name engraved on it.

The goal is to make flying safer in an affordable manner.

So its time to think outside of the box and maybe win $25,000.

(Staff image)

FMI: www.eaa.org