NBAA Names Moss, Epps Award Winners

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The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) this week said it selected Bryan T. Moss, president emeritus of Gulfstream Aerospace, to receive the association’s 2007 Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation; E. Patrick Epps, pilot and founder of Epps Aviation, will receive its 2007 John P. “Jack” Doswell Award. This year’s NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention is set for Atlanta, and the awards help recognize the two’s strong ties to the business aviation industry and to NBAA, as well as to Georgia, according to the association. This year’s convention not only marks NBAA’s 60th annual meeting but also Gulfstream’s 40th anniversary in Georgia and the state’s 100th anniversary of powered flight. Not coincidentally, Georgia’s first powered flight was conducted by Ben Epps, Pat Epps’ father. A replica of the monoplane flown by the elder Epps will hang over the lobby of Hall C at the Georgia World Congress Center during this year’s NBAA convention. Moss and Epps each will receive their awards during the association’s Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, Sept. 25.

NBAA’s 2007 Award for Meritorious Service to Aviation will recognize Bryan Moss’ 40-year career in the aviation industry and substantial contributions to the advancement of business aviation. In 1966, Moss began his aviation career at Lockheed-Georgia Company, where he worked as a sales manager for various Lockheed aircraft, including the JetStar. He joined Canadair as a sales manager in 1979 and subsequently held several positions associated with the Canadair Challenger. By 1992, he was named president of the Business Aircraft Division of Bombardier Aerospace Group. Moss joined Gulfstream Aerospace as its vice chairman in 1995. He became president emeritus of Gulfstream Aerospace in April 2007. Meanwhile, Epps, whose father was killed in an airplane crash when he was only three, today is the driving force behind Epps Aviation, one of the top 10 independent FBOs in the U.S., which is based at the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta. Epps first soloed in a Piper J-3 Cub in 1952, and has over 9,000 flying hours as a commercial pilot, with type ratings in the North American B-25 Mitchell, Douglas DC-3, Learjet and Cessna Citation. After a stint in the U.S. Air Force beginning in 1957, Epps became a Mooney Aircraft dealer, and in 1965 opened Epps Air Service with 19 employees, a 40,000-square-foot hangar and a 10-square-foot office and maintenance area. Epps’ love of aircraft and adventure extends to his participation as co-leader of the Greenland Expedition Society team that recovered the Lockheed P-38 Lightning now known as “Glacier Girl.”

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