FAA Announces 2016 General Aviation Awards Winners

Every year for more than 50 years, the General Aviation Awards program and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have recognized aviation professionals for their contributions to general aviation in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance/avionics, and safety.

Every year for more than 50 years, the General Aviation Awards program and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have recognized aviation professionals for their contributions to general aviation in the fields of flight instruction, aviation maintenance/avionics, and safety.

Recipients of the 2016 National General Aviation Awards are: Robert James Hepp of Fairfax Station, Virginia--Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year; Adrian Allen Eichhorn of McClean, Virginia--Aviation Technician of the Year; Richard Lawrence Martindell of San Diego, California--FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year.

The FAA will present individual plaques to each National Honoree in July during EAA AirVenture 2016 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and their names will be added to the large perpetual plaque located in the lobby of the EAA AirVenture Museum. Also included in the prize packages for each National Honoree is an all-expenses-paid trip to Oshkosh to attend the awards presentation and other special GA Awards activities.

"These awards highlight the important role played by these individuals in promoting aviation education and flight safety," said GA Awards board chairman Arlynn McMahon, "The awards program sponsors are pleased that these outstanding aviation professionals will receive the recognition they so richly deserve before their peers in Oshkosh."

Robert James Hepp of Fairfax Station, Virginia has been named the 2016 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year. Bob owns and operates Aviation Adventures LLC, the largest non-university Part 141 flight school in the Mid-Atlantic region, employing 46 airplanes (16 of them company-owned). Aviation Adventures operates from four Virginia airports: Leesburg Executive, Manassas Regional, Stafford Regional, and Warrenton-Faquier.

Adrian Allen Eichhorn of McClean, Virginia has been named the 2016 National Aviation Technician of the Year. Adrian has served as an Aviation Safety Counselor and FAASTeam Representative for nearly 20 years, giving dozens of safety presentations at airports throughout the greater Washington DC area. He was honored as the National Aviation Safety Counselor of the Year in 2001. The Washington DC FSDO honored him in 2004 with its Superior Contribution to Safety award, and again in 2011 with its Flight Instructor of the Year award.

Richard Lawrence Martindell of San Diego, California has been named the 2016 National FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year. Rich is employed by King Schools as Vice President, Course Content and Experience. In this capacity, he works directly with the King Schools' Professional Pilot courses, and supervises the work of four CFIs and a graphic artist for all the King Schools aviation courses. Those courses include Sport, Private, Instrument, Commercial and ATP ground school; Sport, Private, Instrument and Commercial practical test preparation; Flight Instructor refresher courses for fixed wing and helicopter; and numerous topical flight training courses. Rich is also the Wings Program coordinator for King Schools, where he validated 1,500 requests for Wings credit in the past 12 months.