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2022 Howard Hughes Memorial Award – Harrison Ford

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The Aero Club of Southern California is proud to honor legendary hero, both on and off-screen, Harrison Ford with the prestigious 43rd annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award. Ford will be presented the award during a live ceremony event on Friday, June 10, 2022, in Los Angeles at the California Science Center Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Pavilion.

Best known for his renowned acting career, Harrison Ford is a licensed pilot of both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.

Ford shared his love of flying with young people serving as Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles program chairman for five years. During this time, he flew more than 280 children in his DHC-2 Beaver.

In 2010, he commanded an Operation Smile medical volunteer and supply airlift for Haiti earthquake victims. Ford is a volunteer search and rescue helicopter pilot in Teton County, Wyoming. He traveled to Washington, D.C. multiple times to advocate for pilots’ rights. He serves as an honorary board member of the humanitarian aviation organization, Wings of Hope and as Vice Chair of Conservation International.

“It is an honor to celebrate Harrison Ford, the illustrious actor, pilot, and passionate aviation advocate for his volunteer work with Young Eagles, humanitarian and aircraft rescue efforts,” states George Butts, President of Aero Club of Southern California. “The Aero Club’s mission is to honor the giants of aviation and aerospace while providing generous scholarships to students pursuing an education in either field. We look forward to bringing industry professionals and the public together to recognize Mr. Ford this June and to celebrate the visibility he brings to the aviation and aerospace industries through his aviation accomplishments and iconic film career.”

The Howard Hughes Memorial Award honors exceptional leaders who advanced the fields of aviation or aerospace technology. Harrison Ford’s name will be added to the Howard Hughes Memorial trophy, a beautiful midcentury modern globe and vehicle sculpture, joining forty-two aviation and aerospace pioneers including last year’s honoree Richard “Dick” Rutan as well as General Chuck Yeager, Bob Hoover, Neil Armstrong, General Jimmy Doolittle, Elon Musk, Captain Jim Lovell, and Captain “Sully” Sullenberger.

 

2021 Howard Hughes Memorial Award – Richard “Dick” Rutan

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A retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight. President Ronald Reagan awarded Dick and Burt Rutan the Presidential Citizens Medal. He served the Air Force as a Tactical Air Command fighter pilot in Vietnam, where he flew 325 combat missions in the Vietnam War. By the time he retired from the service in 1978, Dick had achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and earned many prestigious accolades including the Silver Star, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, 16 Air Medals and the Purple Heart. The Voyager mission was just one of many remarkable and record-breaking aviation accomplishments. Dick is a renowned public speaker and established the Dick Rutan Scholarship fund, which has gifted many thousands of dollars to young scholars. He remains highly active in the world of aviation and is a true legend.

2019 Howard Hughes Memorial Award – Captain “Sully” Sullenberger

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Captain “Sully” Sullenberger has been dedicated to the pursuit of safety for his entire adult life. While he is best known for serving as Captain during what has been called the “Miracle on the Hudson,” Sullenberger is a safety expert, speaker, and author. He still flies privately.

Born in Denison, Texas, Sullenberger pursued his childhood love of aviation, learning to fly at 16. Upon graduation from the U.S. Air Force Academy, he served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, then was an airline pilot, instructor, and accident investigator until his retirement in March 2010.

Sullenberger became internationally renowned on January 15, 2009 when he and his crew safely guided US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency water landing in New York City’s frigid Hudson River. Sullenberger and his crew received international acclaim for their actions, including the passage of a Congressional resolution recognizing their bravery. Sullenberger was ranked second in TIME‘s “Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009” and was awarded the French Legion of Honour.

Sullenberger is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters and also wrote Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America’s Leaders. Clint Eastwood directed the major motion picture about Sullenberger, titled SULLY, based on Highest Duty, with Tom Hanks in the lead role. The film was released to critical acclaim in September 2016. Highest Duty was republished that year as SULLY: My Search for What Really Matters.

Sullenberger is an international lecturer and keynote speaker on how to achieve the highest levels of performance, reliability, and safety through effective crisis management, continuous learning, leadership, and culture.

buzz aldrin

2018 Howard Hughes Memorial Award Banquet

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2018 HOWARD HUGHES MEMORIAL AWARD RECIPIENT: BUZZ ALDRIN
Buzz Aldrin is a legendary astronaut and advocate for human space exploration.

In 1966 on the Gemini 12 orbital mission, Buzz performed the world’s first successful spacewalk – extra-vehicular activity (EVA), and on July 20, 1969, Buzz and Neil Armstrong made their historic Apollo 11 moonwalk, becoming the first two humans to set foot on another world.

Since retiring from NASA and the U.S. Air Force, Col. Aldrin has become a bestselling author, speaker, and a Global Statesman for Space.

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: February 13, 2019
Time: Reception – 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Dinner and presentation – 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Location: Jonathan Club, Los Angeles, CA
Attire: Business
Parking: Included

hhma18

Lockheed Martin’s Marillyn Hewson Receives 2017 Howard Hughes Memorial Award

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hhma18

2017 Howard Hughes Memorial Award Registration. Aero Club of Southern California honoree Marillyn Hewson, center. Photo credit: Joshua Barash

Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO Marillyn Hewson was honored on February 7 by the Aero Club of Southern California as the 39th recipient of the Howard Hughes Memorial Award.

“Marillyn joins a distinguished group of aerospace leaders,” said Aero Club president John Stammreich. “She exemplifies the spirit of this award through her bold leadership and significant contributions to driving innovation in aerospace.”

“I am honored to represent the 100,000 men and women of Lockheed Martin whose drive and ingenuity have defined new eras in flight,” said Hewson. “The award is made even more special by the long and distinguished list of past awardees – men and women who have reshaped the future by what they have done in the skies and in space.”

To see more photos of the event, CLICK HERE>

wes bush

Northrop Grumman Chairman Wes Bush to receive 2016 Howard Hughes Memorial Award from Aero Club

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Los Angeles, CA  – Wes Bush, chairman, CEO and president of Northrop Grumman Corporation, a leader in global security, has been selected by the Aero Club of Southern California to receive its 2016 Howard Hughes Memorial Award. 

Established in 1978 by the Hughes family, the Award is presented annually to an aerospace leader whose accomplishments have contributed significantly to the advancement of aviation or space technology.

Bush will receive his Award at a banquet at the Jonathan Club, Los Angeles, on Wednesday, February 1, 2017.

Previous recipients of the award are, in chronological order, Jack Northrop, Jimmy Doolittle, Pat Hyland, Bob Six, Kelly Johnson, Chuck Yeager, Ed Heinemann, Barry Goldwater Sr., Pete Conrad, Allen Paulson, Si Ramo, Jack Real, Ben Rich, Clifton Moore, Lee Atwood, Harry Wetzel, Bobbi Trout, Tom Jones, Allen Puckett, Paul MacCready, John Brizendine, Willis Hawkins, Sam Iacobellis, Kent Kresa, Neil Armstrong, Frank Robinson, Burt Rutan, Eileen Collins, James Albaugh, Ron Sugar, Bob Hoover, Fred Smith, Clay Lacy, Steven Udvar-Hazy, Edward Stone, Elon Musk and Jim Lovell.

Bush was elected to the company’s Board of Directors in 2009, named chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman in 2010 and assumed the role of chairman in 2011. He previously served as president and chief operating officer.

Earlier he served as president of the company’s Space Technology sector and as corporate vice president and CFO. Prior to the acquisition of TRW by Northrop Grumman, he served as president and CEO for TRW’s UK-based Global Aeronautical Systems.

Bush joined TRW in 1987 as a systems engineer and served in engineering, program management and business development roles in the Space & Electronics business. Prior to joining TRW, he held engineering positions with Aerospace Corporation and Comsat Labs.

The Aero Club is a 501 (3) (c) tax-exempt charity, with proceeds going toward the Club’s STEM scholarship programs. The media contact is Nissen Davis at [email protected], tel. 310-729-6510

Jim Lovell

Apollo Astronaut Jim Lovell to receive 2015 Howard Hughes Memorial Award

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James A, Lovell, Jr. has been selected by the Aero Club of Southern California to receive the 2015 Howard Hughes Memorial Award. Established in 1978 by the Hughes family, the Award is presented annually to an aerospace leader whose accomplishments have contributed significantly to the advancement of aviation or space technology.

Lovell will receive his Award at a banquet at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, February 10, 2016.

Lovell, a former NASA astronaut and a retired captain in the United States Navy, is most famous as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission control.

Lovell was also the command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first Apollo mission to enter lunar orbit. He is a recipient of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, the first of only three people to fly to the Moon twice, and the only one to have flown there twice without making a landing. He was also the first person to fly in space four times.

In the Navy, Lovell specialized in all-weather aircraft carrier night flying and served as program manager for the F4H Phantom fighter. In 1962 NASA selected him to serve in the second group of astronauts for the Gemini program

Previous recipients of the award, in chronological order, are Jack Northrop, Jimmy Doolittle, Pat Hyland, Bob Six, Kelly Johnson, Chuck Yeager, Ed Heinemann, Barry Goldwater Sr., Pete Conrad, Allen Paulson, Si Ramo, Jack Real, Ben Rich, Clifton Moore, Lee Atwood, Harry Wetzel, Bobbi Trout, Tom Jones, Allen Puckett, Paul MacCready, John Brizendine, Willis Hawkins, Sam Iacobellis, Kent Kresa, Neil Armstrong, Frank Robinson, Burt Rutan, Eileen Collins, James Albaugh, Ron Sugar, Bob Hoover, Fred Smith, Clay Lacy, Steven Udvar-Hazy, Edward Stone and Elon Musk.