John Travolta, the “Official Ambassador of Aviation,” will host the Living Legends of Aviation, an annual aviation recognition event on Jan. 16, 2015 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Kiddie Hawk Air Academy recently announced that Michimasa Fujino, founding president and CEO of Honda Aircraft Company, will receive the “Aviation Industry Leader of the Year Award” for his development, production, marketing and sales of the HondaJet (pictured below).
Also announced were the additions of three new legends who will be inducted into the “Living Legends of Aviation” in January. They include Bruce Whitman, CEO of FlightSafety; Major General Carl McNair, retired, the first Chief of the Army Aviation Branch; and Herbert D. Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines.
Kiddie Hawk Air Academy previously announced that Kelleher will also be receiving the “Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award.” Southwest Airlines commenced service with three airplanes in 1971 and now operates over 700 Boeing 737s. Southwest Airlines has been profitable for 41 consecutive years and is the only airline to make Fortune’s top 10 list of the ”World’s Most Admired Companies.”
The Living Legends of Aviation will also honor Elling Halvorson, of Papillon Helicopters, with the “Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award” which is presented by Bell Helicopter.
Kiddie Hawk will release the names of the additional honorees in the coming weeks.
The 12th Annual “Living Legends of Aviation Awards” are being dedicated to Bob Hoover, who will be sharing some of his amazing tales and Hoover antic-dotes as he celebrates his 93rd birthday.