NAHF Picks Four For Class Of 2013

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The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) this week announced who it will welcome next October as its “incoming Enshrinee Class of 2013” and the list includes three former military pilots and a former CEO of Cessna. Captain Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson, USN (retired) has served as a fighter pilot, flight test pilot and Commander of four Space Shuttle missions. Major General Patrick H. Brady, a Vietnam combat veteran, developed foul weather and tactical techniques for helicopter air ambulance rescue in combat. The late Charles Alfred Anderson helped develop civilian pilot training and has been described as “the father of African-American aviation.” He served as chief instructor for the Tuskegee Airmen. And the late Dwane L. Wallace saw Cessna Aircraft Company through some of this country’s most difficult years and made major contributions beyond the company as well.

Wallace retired from his position as Chairman and CEO at Cessna in 1975. Wallace’s term with the company spanned 41 years. NAHF writes, “During the Depression, Wallace used money won by air racing to meet payroll.” The company later supplied aircraft to the military in WWII, after which Wallace directed development of its publicly successful general aviation and corporate aircraft lines. Wallace also founded the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and served as its first chairman. NAHF’s enshrinement ceremony for the men will take place Friday, Oct. 4, at the organization’s Learning Center, next to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. It is a black-tie dinner event that is open to the public through reservations purchased in advance through NAHF.

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