2022 HHMA Recipient

Harrison Ford, the renowned actor, is also a licensed fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter pilot. He began flight training in the 1960s in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, but at $15 an hour he could not afford to continue. In the mid-1990s, he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started training in a Cessna 182 out of Jackson, Wyoming, later switching to a Cessna 206—the aircraft in which Ford made his first solo flight.

Beyond aviation for personal enjoyment, Ford has been involved in significant humanitarian and service efforts. He commanded a 2010 Operation Smile medical volunteer and supply airlift supporting Haiti earthquake victims. He is also an honorary board member of Wings of Hope, a humanitarian aviation organization.

Ford serves as a volunteer search and rescue helicopter pilot in Teton County, Wyoming, and has flown rescue missions to assist sick or stranded hikers. He has also shared his love of flying with young people through the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Young Eagles program, serving as its chairman for five years. During that period, he flew more than 280 children in his DHC-2 Beaver. In 2016, he flew the two-millionth Young Eagle at the EAA convention. He has additionally traveled to Washington, D.C. multiple times to advocate for pilots’ rights.

Today, Ford serves as Vice Chair of Conservation International, an organization focused on spotlighting and securing the critical benefits nature provides to humanity.