For Immediate Release
April 22, 2002
L. Kim Smith
AHS Announces 2002 Award Recipients
Alexandria, VA -AHS International - The Vertical Flight Society Chairman John Murphey, today announced the recipients of the Society's 2002 awards program. This prestigious awards program was initiated in 1944 and over the years has paid tribute to the outstanding leaders of the vertical flight industry. Each year the awards grow steadily in prestige and importance.
The Society's awards program recognizes extraordinary achievements and serves as a catalyst for stimulating technological advances in the vertical flight industry. The winners include:
The AHS Fellow Award recipients, who receive this honor because of their outstanding work towards the interests of the industry, are Samuel R. Hurt, General Manager - Rotorcraft Engineering (Army Programs), The Boeing Company; David L. Key, Principal, Key Qualities, Oceanside, CA; Dr. Sergey Mikheyev, President/Designer General, Kamov Company; and Dr. William G.Warmbrodt, Chief, Rotorcraft Aeromechanics Branch, NASA Ames Research Center.
The AHS Honorary Fellow Awards are given to Society members who have made an outstanding contribution to the interests of the Society. This year's winners are Roger Krone, Vice President/General Manager, Army Programs, The Boeing Company/Aircraft & Missiles and David J. Weller, Director, Advanced Systems Directorate (ASD), Aviation & Missile Research, Development & Engineering Center (AMRDEC), U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command (AMCOM).
The Grover E. Bell Award is given to the individual or organization that has fostered and encouraged U.S. research and experimentation in helicopter development. This year's honored recipient is the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center, University of Maryland.
This year's honoree for the Howard Hughes Award is the Tiltrotor Aeroacoustics Code (TRAC) System Development Team comprised of NASA Langley Research Center, the U.S. Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate, Boeing, Sikorsky Aircraft and Bell Helicopter and academia. The Howard Hughes Award is given in recognition of an outstanding improvement in fundamental helicopter technology brought to fruition in the previous year.
Walter G. O. Sonneborn, Vice President - Product Design, Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. is this year's honored recipient of the Dr. Alexander Klemin Award . This prestigious award is presented for recognition of notable achievement in the advancement of rotary wing aeronautics. Walter Sonneborn is a well-known figure in the rotary-wing industry having contributed to significant advances in rotary-wing technology in his 36-year career at Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
The Singapore Apache Team (Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Longbow Limited, General Electric Engines, Singapore Defense Science and Technology Agency, Singapore Technologies Aerospace and the U.S. Army) is the winner of the Gruppo Agusta International Helicopter Fellowship . This award is presented to the individual or group who has made the most significant contribution to international vertical flight cooperation.
The Harry T. Jensen Award is given in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the improvement of helicopter reliability, maintainability, safety or logistics support through improved design or technical achievement brought to fruition during the preceding year. This year the award is presented to the combinted team of Simula Safety Systems, the U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate, and Aircrew Integrated Systems for their dedication and hard work in bringing the Cockpit Air Bag System (CABS) to the helicopter aviation industry.
The Frederick L. Feinberg Award is presented to the helicopter pilot or pilots that have made the most outstanding achievement in the previous year. The winners are the U.S. Marine Corps 15th MEU/HMM-163, First Aircraft Dvision and the 26th MEU/HMM-365, Second Aircraft Division which participated in the execution of the longest amphibious airfield seizure in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps - the Camp Rhino insertion. Six CH-53Es flew 371.5 nm inland from the USS Peleliu and carried the first conventional forces into Afghanistan. Their efforts paved the way for follow-on forces which would wreak havoc on the Taliban and Al Queda forces.
MG Michael A. Hough, USMC, Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation is the recipient of the Paul E. Haueter Award which is given to an individual or group who makes a significant contribution to the development of VTOL aircraft other than helicopters. General Hough was previously the Director of the Joint Strike Fighter Program and helped ensure that the aircraft became a reality.
The Captain William J. Kossler, USCG Award , which is given to the individual or organization that demonstrates the greatest achievement in practical application of the helicopter, is given to the flight crew members of the USAF 56th Rescue Squadron for their dramatic rescue of a fisherman in hurricane-strength winds and 30-foot seas.
The Robert L. Pinckney Award honors the memory of an eminent manufacturing engineer from Boeing Helicopters. This award is given in recognition of notable achievement in manufacturing research and development for rotorcraft or rotorcraft components brought to fruition in recent years. This year's recipient is the Sikorsky Rotary Wing Structures Technology Demonstration Program. This program selected, matured and demonstrated technologies that will reduce the weight, manufacturing labor, and non-recurring development costs for helicopter airframes by 15%, 26% and 39%, respectively.
The Alexander A. Nikolsky Lectureship is awarded to the individual who reflects the highest ideals, goals and achievements in the field of helicopter and V/STOL aircraft engineering and development. This year's recipient is Troy M. Gaffey, Senior Vice President, Research and Engineering, Bell Helicopter Textron Inc and the title of his lecture is "The Devil is in the Aeromechanics and Other Product Development Lessons Learned." Mr. Gaffey will present his lecture at the Opening General Session at the AHS 58th Annual Forum and Technology Display, Tuesday, June 11, 2002, in Montreal, Canada.
The Society's Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Award is given to Dr. Catherine H. Ferrie, Research Project Engineer, Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. This award, which was established in 1992, recognizes outstanding contributions to vertical flight technology by a Society member under the age of thirty. The award honors the memory of a young helicopter engineer, Swiss citizen, author and rescue pilot who founded the AHS student chapter at the University of Michigan.
The AHS Supplier Execellence Award , created in 1995, is given to a supplier which, through the quality, innovativeness and cost-effectiveness of its products, has made notable contributions within the vertical flight industry. This year the distinction is awarded to David Adler, Helicopter Support, Inc. for his 27 year commitment to providing spare parts to commercial helicopter operators.
The Robert L. Lichten Award is given to the author of the best technical paper presented at a regular meeting during the preceding calendar year. This year's winner is Geoffrey J. Jeram, Georgia Institute of Technology. The title of his winning paper is "Open Design for Helicopter Active Control Systems."
The AHS Individual Member Sponsor Contest Winner is AHS Hampton Roads long-time Treasurer Robert D. Powell. The AHS Pacific Northwest Chapter is the winner of this year'sAHS Chapter Member Increase Contest. The AHS Poland Chapter is the winner of the AHS Chapter Member Percent Increase Contest with an increase in membership of 25 percent. The AHS Every Member Get a Member Contest Winner is the AHS Stratford Chapter. We congratulate all of these vibrant, hard working members.
AHS International - The Vertical Flight Society, which has more than 6,000 members, is the world's leading technical, professional society dedicated to the advancement of vertical flight technology and its applications.
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