Charles Lindbergh, Igor Sikorsky, Juan Trippe, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Harrison Ford…
What is common to all these names? Well, all those gentlemen were winners of the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy.
What is not common to all these names? Except one they were all iconic figures in aeronautics or astronautics… and of course only one of them is a movie star.
By now you will have guessed. The winner of the 2010 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy is Harrison Ford, of Indiana Jones fame.
The trophy was established by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in 1948 to honor the memory of Orville and Wilbur Wright. The trophy is awarded annually to a living American for “significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States.”
The award is made possible by a trust fund established in 1936 by Godfrey Lowell Cabot of Boston, a former president of NAA. The first trophy was awarded to William Frederick Durand for his many accomplishments including developing the basic theories for aircraft propeller design and acting as a primary force in the establishment of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
Ford started flying only at age 52 and he has now a license for both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Aviation has become a real passion for him. He was awarded the trophy for his contribution to aviation in part as chair of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s “Young Eagles” where he led an effort to get 500 000 children aged between 8 and 17 into the cockpit of a light aircraft and generally educating them about aviation. He also flew his Cessna Caravan to Haiti hauling relief supplies after the catastrophic earthquake. He also transported athletes to the Special Olympics in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Well, what else would you expect from someone who has played Indiana Jones with such relish?
Congratulations to Harrison Ford. I did not know that he was a pilot, other that in the movie “Six Days, Seven Nights”.