posted 09-26-2016 05:29 PM               

World's Most Prestigious Air & Space Hall of Fame Enshrines Distinguished Class of 2016

The Boeing Company, Al Worden, Dale Myers, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Coast Guard Aviation, the Non-Skeds, ORBIS International Flying Eye Hospital, America's Aviation Family of Excellence and other aviation and space legends rendezvous at San Diego's Air & Space Museum for annual celebration.

Join the San Diego Air & Space Museum in celebrating the honorees on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, in the Museum's Pavilion of Flight. Guests from around the world are assembling for a spectacular evening of fun and extraordinary recognition, as each attendee is treated to an experiential peek into the lives of these air and space legends.

Since 1963 the International Air & Space Hall of Fame has honored more than 200 of the world's most significant pilots, crew members, visionaries, inventors, aerospace engineers, business leaders, preservationists, designers and space pioneers.

The Distinguished Class of 2016 includes:

• The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), a nonprofit organization with 400,000 members dedicated to making aviation, safe, fun and affordable;

• Al Worden, Command Module Pilot to for Apollo 15 and the first man to conduct a spacewalk in deep space;

• The Boeing Company, which in 2016 is celebrating 100 years as one of the world's elite aircraft and aerospace pioneers;

• Coast Guard Aviation, which for 100 years has been a vital element of everything the Coast Guard does;

• Dale Myers, whose remarkable career spanned developmental work at North American, through the successful landing of Apollo 11 to the Space Shuttle program;

• the "Non-Skeds" which developed successful airlines from surplus WWII airplanes;

• ORBIS International Flying Eye Hospital, a nonprofit development organization dedicated to saving eyesight worldwide; and

• America's Aviation Family of Excellence: The Maloneys and Hintons, Warbird and Air Racing Legends.

The honorees are selected for their qualitative achievements and historic contributions to aviation, space and aerospace innovation or expanding the public's aviation and space awareness to the world. Their contributions are prime examples of endurance and the adventurous exploring spirit in the pursuit of knowledge and scientific advancement.

"We're especially pleased to honor this exemplary Class of 2016 because these pioneers have not only made significant contributions in air and space exploration, they've also become strong positive role models for today's youth," said Jim Kidrick, President & CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum. "Aviation and space exploration, as embodied by the honorees in the International Air & Space Hall of Fame, directly represents the human pioneering spirit."

"November 17 is THE evening of the year every guest will remember for the rest of their lives. We honor these legends on behalf of San Diegans, and really everyone in the world. People come from all over the globe to be at this celebration."

The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is the most prestigious induction of its kind in the world and is composed of hundreds of air and space pioneers, engineers, inventors and innovators, along with adventurers, scientists and industry leaders. NASA Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts and Russian cosmonauts are honored in the Hall of Fame, plus famous legends such as the Wright brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Chuck Yeager.

Notable inductees include Igor Sikorsky, Wernher von Braun, Jack Northrop, William Boeing, Sr., Reuben H. Fleet, Glenn Curtiss, Walter Zable Sr., Fran Bera, Wally Schirra, Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, T. Claude Ryan, Jimmy Doolittle, Frederick Rohr, Waldo Waterman, Bob Hoover, Harrison Ford, Patty Wagstaff, the NBAA, and many others.

Proceeds from the evening benefit the Museum's youth education programs.

"Inspiring kids to undertake tough science and engineering challenges is a critical first step for our future," Kidrick said. "We must also give them the resources and impetus they need to pursue science education degrees."