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Aviation Maintenance Technician Award
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 Mr. Robert A. Jones, Aviation Maintenance Technician, Air Logistics of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, is the recipient of the 2005 Aviation Maintenance Technician Award. This award recognizes an individual with at least five years of experience in the field of helicopter maintenance. Eligibility is limited to hands-on maintenance personnel and their direct supervisors.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Jones worked in Alaska, on the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline project, as a helicopter mechanic and also as Chief Inspector for Anchorage Helicopters, the predecessor of Air Logistics of Alaska, Inc. He has an extensive history with helicopters, and has worked in remote field locations, performed offshore, power line construction, geological survey, and line maintenance from a fixed base.
Jones has worked in a range of environments and terrain, including the north slop of Alaska, on tuna boats in the Pacific Ocean, in the jungles of Indonesia, and in the desert of Australia. He currently works, on a seasonal basis, in a remote location of northern Alaska.
Jones has been involved in the helicopter industry for the past four decades, contributing to the industry by performing exemplary work behind the scenes, regardless of the difficult environments or complex tasks. He can be counted on to get the job done, and bring the helicopter home in better condition than when it left. |
Aviation Repair Specialist Award
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 Mr. Bruce Currier, Vice President of Avionics, Evergreen Helicopters, Inc., McMinnville, Oregon, is the recipient of the 2005 Aviation Repair Specialist Award. This award recognizes an individual in the field of helicopter airframe and powerplant maintenance. The recipient must be a current Airframe and Powerplant-rated helicopter mechanic with at least five years of experience.
Currier has been one of Evergreen's lead avionics engineers since 1975. He has been on every continent with Evergreen, supporting Evergreen's missions. He has completed sophisticated STC's and difficult and complex engineering wiring diagrams many times, helping Evergreen stay on the cutting edge of the industry. Currier is often sent to remote, inaccessible areas to perform major engineering changes, from structural upgrades to difficult rewiring projects.
Currier is a graduate of the University of Oregon. He also received an advanced degree in avionics and engineering from the Military College of Armed Forces. He served with the U.S. Air Force for eight years, where he traveled the world, supporting various military missions as an Avionics Technician in research and development.
Currier is a dedicated engineer who completes his projects in an efficient and timely manner, and he has consistently impressed Evergreen's management. Currier's years of excellent maintenance performance qualify him to be the Aviation Repair Specialist of 2005. |
Igor I. Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service
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 The recipients of the 2005 Igor I. Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service will be all companies, organizations, and individuals who took part in the relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina. This award is presented to the person(s) who best demonstrates the value of civil rotorcraft to society by saving lives, protecting property, and aiding those in distress.
Immediately following the storm, U.S. Coast Guard helicopters were airlifting victims, surrounded by toxic floodwater, from rooftops. Civilian helicopter operators, including many HAI members, soon followed, offering relief and assistance in any way they could. For many, the helicopter was the only option for rescue.
Helicopters were also used to evacuate critically ill hospital patients from medical facilities that were flooded or without power, often having to land on rooftops, decks, and parking garages. Helicopter crews also rescued elderly patients from nursing homes and convalescent centers, as well as premature infants, who needed critical equipment, such as heart monitors and oxygen tanks.
Helicopters were instrumental in airlifting food, water, supplies, fuel, law enforcement officials, firefighters, and relief workers into the flooded region. They helped local utility companies restore power, by helping to repair power lines. Helicopters were critical in the levee repair, reconstruction, damage assessments, and, of course, news reporting.
Helicopters played a vital role in the rescue and relief operations in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Even now, they continue to play a vital role in the reconstruction efforts. To many victims of the deadly storm, the helicopters and their crews were the ultimate heroes. The events associated with this relief effort was truly one of the helicopter industry's finest hours and clearly demonstrated that helicopters save lives. |
The Joe Mashman Safety Award
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 Mr. David S. Whyte, retired Vice President, Alpine Helicopters Ltd., Kelowna, British Columbia, is the recipient of the 2005 Joe Mashman Safety Award. This award, named after helicopter pioneer Joe Mashman, acknowledges outstanding contributions in the promotion of safety and safety awareness throughout the civil helicopter industry.
Whyte began his flying career as a spray pilot for Okanagan Helicopters, and was the first resident base manager for Okanagan's arctic operations in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. He was involved in introducing the Bell JetRanger to the Canadian arctic.
As a base manager in St. Johns, Newfoundland, he pioneered their offshore IFR operations, using S-61s in Canada's inhospitable east coast environment. He also led Okanagan's international activities as Chief Check and Training Pilot in Singapore and served as Chief Pilot in Perth, Australia, flying S-61s and S-76s in the VFR and IFR environments.
Whyte purchased Alpine Helicopters Ltd. with Pat Aldous in 1988. Whyte took control of, and set new standards for safe helicopter skiing operations. Whyte and Aldous built Alpine Helicopters into one of the world's largest, most successful, and safest heli-ski operations. Whyte is responsible for setting the operational standards, which make heli-skiing the successful, safe business that it is.
Whyte has also spent 15 years on HAI's Safety Committee. He has been involved in many projects that have come to exemplify the committee's contribution to the association and to the helicopter industry. Whyte was one of the authors of the Safety Manual and was part of the group that established HAI's Platinum Program of Safety. Whyte's knowledge, unassuming leadership, and practical approach to the helicopter industry has made a great impact on those who know him. His legacy will be a positive influence for years to come. |
Outstanding Certified Flight Instructor Award
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 Mr. Richard "Ric" Juve Forns, Senior Flight Instructor, Bell Helicopter, Fort Worth, Texas, is the recipient of HAI's 2005 Outstanding Certified Flight Instructor Award. This award recognizes superlative contributions by a helicopter flight instructor in upholding high standards of excellence.
Forns has been a flight instructor for 35 years, with 10,000 hours of flight instruction, and over 3,000 students. He has amassed more than 22,000 accident- and violation-free flight hours. His flying career began in the U.S. Army at Fort Wolters, Texas, and continued with advanced training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and service with the 114th Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam.
Forns has instructed at the Bell Helicopter Training Facility for the past 15 years. He speaks fluent Spanish, and has hundreds of flight instruction hours with Spanish-speaking pilots. Forns has worked as a flight instructor in Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Taiwan, Philippines, Iran, Greece, Spain, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, and Belgium.
He is an FAA Aviation Safety Counselor, and has conducted safety seminars on various human factors and flying topics for many audiences.
In addition to the Outstanding CFI award, Forns has earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
For seven years, Forns conducted recurrent training with members of the Tucson Police Air Support Unit, in Tucson, Arizona. Forn's teaching style works well with both beginners and experienced pilots. He is able to stimulate the students' thinking, allowing his students to assimilate information, and apply it to their flying skills. He is a successful instructor because he can communicate with his students and make the lessons relevant to them. |
Agusta Community Service Award
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The Whirly-Girls International is the 2005 recipient of the Agusta Community Service Award. This award recognizes an individual or organization for the establishment of public use of heliports, advancement of the use of helicopters in urban areas operations, and the advancement of "Fly Neighborly" concepts.
The Whirly-Girls is a non-profit, educational, and charitable organization dedicated to advancing women in helicopter aviation. The Whirly-Girls was founded in 1955 by Jean Ross Howard Phelan. Originally at its creation, there were 13 members. There are now 1,362 members from 43 countries. Whirly-Girls includes corporate, commercial and military pilots, flight school managers and instructors, mechanics, heliport designers, flight surgeons, air traffic controllers, attorneys, paralegals, airport managers, business owners, cattle ranchers, aeronautical engineers, test pilots, administrative assistants, owners, operators, aviation pioneers, and pathfinders.
The organization's goals are: (1) to promote the acceptance of rotorcraft in their local communities through increasing public awareness of rotorcraft utility and versatility; (2) to promote the advancement of women in rotorcraft aviation through scholarship awards, public presentations, press releases, magazine articles, and displays in aviation museums; (3) to provide, through the organization's web site, information about employment opportunities for women in the helicopter industry; and (4) to encourage the development of helipads.
This past April, the Whirly-Girls celebrated their 50th anniversary. The celebration took place at the Mayflower Hotel, in Washington, D.C., where the very first Whirly-Girl meeting was held in 1955.
The Whirly-Girls award an average of $40,000 in scholarships each year to female pilots. They are currently the helicopter industry's largest scholarship fund. |
Eurocopter Golden Hour Award
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 Mr. Robert McMullan, Chief Pilot, West Michigan Air Care, Kalamazoo, Michigan, is the recipient of the 2005 Eurocopter Golden Hour Award. This award recognizes efforts of an individual or organization who has advanced the use of helicopters in the Air Medical Service industry.
McMullan began his aviation career flying with the U.S. Army in the mid-1960s. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was a pioneer in the use of the helicopter as a weapons platform. He served as an instructor pilot and maintenance officer. Additionally, he served as a civilian instructor for six years at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he taught tactics and instrument flight.
McMullan has worked in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) helicopter industry for 20 years. In 1985, McMullan began working for Vanderbilt Lifeflight of Nashville, Tennessee. He then worked for Huntsville Medflight, in Huntsville, Alabama, where he continued to serve those members of the community in need of EMS helicopters. In 1989, while the Director of Operations, McMullan was instrumental in purchasing an AS365N helicopter to replace the AS350 they had operated since 1985. The upgrade moved the program up to an IFR capable aircraft with twin-engine reliability.
In 1990, McMullan began working as the Director of Flight Operations at Borgess Inflight in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In 1993, Borgess Inflight merged with Bronson Careflight to become West Michigan Air Care. McMullan was named Director of Flight Operations of the new program. He obtained a new Air Carrier certificate under FAR Part 135 for the organization.
McMullan continues to explore new information and equipment, in order to provide the safest and most consistent service possible. He still approaches flying with the expectation that he can learn something new and he shares this information with his peers for the betterment of all pilots. |
MD Helicopters Law Enforcement Award
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 Captain Don R. Roby, Baltimore County Police Department, Towson, Maryland, is the recipient of the 2005 MD Helicopters Law Enforcement Award. This award recognizes a worthy contribution to the advancement of the crime suppression concept of helicopter patrol service.
Roby has been a member of the Baltimore County Police Department for the past 25 years. From 1993 to 2001, Roby served as the Aviation Unit Commander. He led the unit through its transition from the Hughes TH-55A helicopter to the turbine-powered Bell OH-58. Under Roby's leadership, the unit increased its operating hours from 500 hours per year to over 2,000 hours per year, and its number of personnel, equipment, and aircraft. Currently, Roby is a Captain and precinct commander for the North Point Precinct.
After being transferred from the Aviation Unit Commander post, Roby continued to stay involved in many aviation organizations, doing so on his own time and at his own expense. He is currently the Vice-Chairman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Aviation Committee, a member of HAI's Government Services Committee, President of the Mid-Atlantic Helicopter Association, Secretary of the Airborne Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission, and serves on the ALEA's Public Aircraft Issues Committee. Roby has also actively represented law enforcement at the Defense Logistics Agency, Law Enforcement Support Office, regarding military excess aircraft, parts, aircraft disposal issues, and continued airworthiness matters.
Roby has represented law enforcement aviation on issues concerning public aircraft at the national and international levels. He has frequently presented at various conferences and seminars, on public aircraft issues and airborne law enforcement issues. He has been an instructor for the ALEA for the past seven years. He instructs students in the Unit Manager's Course and various other topics. In addition, he has presented at the International Association of Chiefs of Police International Conference and Exposition.
Roby is truly deserving of the MD Helicopters Law Enforcement Award, because of his dedication and contributions to the aviation law enforcement field. |
Excellence in Communications Award
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 William Wagstaff, Senior Editor, Aviation International News, Midland Park, New Jersey, has been named as the recipient of the 2005 Excellence in Communications Award. Wagstaff, who passed away in February 2004, will be honored posthumously for his dedication to covering the helicopter industry. This award is given to the print or broadcast journalist achieving the most creative and distinct dissemination of information about the helicopter.
An avid aviation enthusiast, Wagstaff was a full-time editor for Aviation International News, from 1988 to 2003, where he specialized in rotary-wing coverage. He wrote numerous articles on a multitude of subjects, ranging from pilot medical issues to aerial firefighting. His monthly column on rotorcraft always dealt with subjects most important to people in the helicopter industry. Wagstaff was also the editor of AIN Reports, an online newsletter, which was published from 2000 to 2001.
Wagstaff was the inspiration for one of the characters in the Conan the Barbarian comic books series, having gone to school with the original artist who drew them.
He worked tirelessly to investigate a story and to provide a balanced viewpoint. His work displayed a profound knowledge of the industry and his eloquent writings captured the attention of many industry readers. He always tried to portray the helicopter in a positive light.
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Helicopter Maintenance Award
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 Mr. Gary Grage, Senior Technical Advisor, Columbia Helicopters Inc., Portland Oregon, has been named as the recipient of the 2005 Helicopter Maintenance Award. This award recognizes distinguished, longstanding excellence in the performance of helicopter maintenance.
Grage began his career in the U.S. Air Force. In 1972, he began working for Columbia Helicopters Inc. (CHI) as a Structural Repair Mechanic. In 1974, he was promoted to the position of Shop Chief for the CHI Structures Department. Grage supervised all structural maintenance, repair, and modification activities to the CHI fleet.
After managing the Structures Shop for six years, CHI asked Grage to head up the Research and Development/Special Projects Group. Grage was now responsible for the development and coordination of the certification of numerous aircraft modifications. He was also instrumental in the introduction of the BV234, the S-76, and the AS332C to the CHI fleet. In 2001, Grage was promoted to Vice President of Maintenance.
Currently, Grage is the Senior Technical Advisor, providing technical support of "legacy" issues regarding aircraft, aircraft components, special equipment, and ground support equipment. He also serves as the principle contact between CHI and the Boeing Design Engineering and Service Engineering Departments. He was responsible for coordinating the 107 and 234 Type Certificates transfer from Boeing to Columbia. He provided on-site support at Boeing-Philadelphia for the transfer of the data required for the Type Certificate transfers. As part of the Type Certificate transfers, he provided technical assistance with the expansion of CHI's part manufacturing capabilities.
Under his leadership, the CHI Maintenance and Repair Overhaul organization attained an AS9100 quality rating. Grage's accomplishments and professionalism reflect great credit upon himself, Columbia Helicopters, and the helicopter industry |
Lawrence D. Bell Memorial Award
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 Dr. Walter B. Comeaux, a former member of HAI's Board of Directors, and a former HAI Safety Committee Chairman, is the 2005 recipient of the Lawrence D. Bell Memorial Award. Sponsored by Bell Helicopter Textron, this award salutes excellence in management leadership, and is awarded to an individual who has been dedicated to service to the civil helicopter industry.
From the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, Dr. Comeaux generously contributed his personal time and medical expertise for the benefit of the entire helicopter community, through active and regular participation in HAI. During this time, Dr. Comeaux served as Chairman of HAI's Safety Committee, and then became a Special Advisor to HAI's Board of Directors, where he served for 10 years.
Dr. Comeaux was instrumental in the development of the original HAI Safety Manual, which was approved by the Board in 1985. In 1993, he was awarded the Joe Mashman Safety Award, and is an HAI Honorary Lifetime Member.
Dr. Comeaux's medical career spans 58 years, including his time as a senior aviation medical examiner for the FAA. As a flight surgeon for Petroleum Helicopters, Inc., Dr. Comeaux initiated the company's original drug screening program.
Dr. Comeaux has long been committed to safety in the helicopter industry, and works tirelessly to promote safety. Although many in the industry complain that higher safety standards are more expensive, Dr. Comeaux always responds with, "If you think safety is expensive, try an accident." |
Robert E. Trimble Memorial Award
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 Mr. John Quackenbush, Pilot, Hillcrest Aircraft Company, Lewiston, Idaho, and Helicopter Express, Atlanta, Georgia, is the recipient of the 2005 Robert E. Trimble Memorial Award. This award honors pilots who have displayed exceptional ability and good judgment, and have distinguished themselves in mountain flying.
After graduating from the University of Washington in 1967, Quackenbush enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He attended Officer Candidate School, and became a helicopter pilot. He earned his U.S. Army wings and secondary flight training at Fort Stewart-Hunter, Georgia. While at Marine Corps Air Station, Santa Ana, California, Quackenbush was designated a Naval Aviator. He served in Vietnam as a Pilot-In-Command, flying a Boeing CH-46D. Quackenbush returned to Santa Ana and served as a NATOPS check pilot. Promoted to Captain, he served as Operations Officer for the 3rd Marine Air Wing.
For a time, Quackenbush operated an aircraft leasing and charter company. He then flew for Columbia Helicopters in logging operations along the Oregon-California border. Later, he went to work for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, performing firefighting duties. He also flew for Sky Choppers in Provo, Utah under a U.S. Forest Service firefighting contract. Quackenbush became Chief Pilot with Inter-Valley Aviation in Oregon, and then rotary-wing operator, and Chief Pilot for Ben Johnson Helicopters, in Joseph, Oregon. He was part of operations that included fire work, predator control, seismic exploration, snow surveys, and other commercial work. Quackenbush also worked for Life Flight of St. Patrick Hospital, in Missoula, Montana.
In 1984, he went to work as a line pilot for Hillcrest Aircraft Company, in Lewiston, Idaho, performing seasonal fire work and seismic oil exploration. When not fighting fires for Hillcrest, Quackenbush flies heli-skiing operations in the Ruby Mountains with Helicopter Express, of Atlanta, Georgia. He also flies heli-skiing operations for the Wasatch Powerbirds, near Salt Lake City, Utah. The terrain in the Wasatch and Ruby Mountains is extremely rugged, with most of the heli-skiing drop-off landing spots in the 9,000 to 11,000-foot altitude range.
Quackenbush has logged over 16,000 total flight hours in mountainous terrain in the western United States, over 13,000 of those hours in helicopters. He flies with a demonstrated commitment to safety, and HAI is proud to present him with the Robert E. Trimble Memorial Award. |
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 Mr. John Holland, Regional Aviation Director, Air Methods Corporation, Macon, Georgia, will receive HAI's 2005 Pilot of the Year Award. This award recognizes an outstanding single feat performed by a helicopter pilot, or extraordinary professionalism over a period of time.
During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Holland was instrumental in the evacuation of patients and staff at Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans. When LifeNet, a division of Air Methods, received a request from the hospital to assist with air medical evacuations, they assigned Holland to recon the situation, setup aircraft staging at off-site locations for air assets as needed, and manage the helicopter traffic and helipad procedures.
Holland stayed on the helipad, until the last person was evacuated, 60 hours later. Patients were carried through the hospital, then into the parking garage, where they were transferred to pickup trucks and driven to the roof, and loaded onto helicopters. Holland put out a radio "mayday" call for all helicopters in the area to respond to the hospital. Several civilian helicopters responded to evacuate the patients. Holland also called some of his many military contacts, and CH-47s, UH-1s, and Black Hawk helicopters flew in to help. Hospital staff loaded patients in helicopters ranging from a Robinson R-44 to a Chinook.
Holland worked under extremely difficult, and sometimes dangerous, conditions to keep the evacuation progressing. He worked tirelessly to ensure that the helicopters could safely land and takeoff and, in general, were able to perform their mission. He coordinated the largest patient evacuation from a hospital in history.
Holland began his aviation career in 1969, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Private. He served with the Army for 30 years, achieving the ranks of Chief Warrant Officer 3 and Colonel. During his Army career, he directed and supported aviation, safety, logistics, and occupational health organizations worldwide. He has logged over 9,700 hours of flight time. Holland is a graduate of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the U.S. Army Command and General Staff Course. |