The Aero Club of New England (ACONE) will present Rudy Frasca, founder and CEO of Frasca International, the 2009 Godfrey L. Cabot Award.
Frasca will receive the award in June in recognition of his lifelong, innovative developments in flight simulation that have enhanced world aviation by safety through training, according to ACONE officials.
Born of Italian immigrants in Melrose Park, Illinois in, 1931, Frasca began taking flying lessons at the age of 14. In 1949, he joined the Navy and worked as a flight instructor teaching pilots on early Link trainers. After the Korean War, he attended the University of Illinois, where he did research in aviation psychology and honed his interest in the field of flight simulation.
In 1958, he built his first flight simulator in his garage and founded Frasca Aviation, later changed to Frasca International as the company grew. Today there are more than 2,000 Frasca flight-training devices in 70 countries.
The Cabot Award, in commemoration of Dr. Godfrey L. Cabot, is presented each year by ACONE to a person or organization that has made outstanding achievements to aviation.
For more information: 781-592-9357 or ACONE.org