The Living Legends of Aviation is an award honoring achievements in the aerospace industry, bestowed by the 130 current title holders and owned and produced by the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a non-profit

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...

. The Living Legends have all made significant contributions to many areas of aviation including: innovators, record breakers, astronauts, aviation entrepreneurs, industry leaders and celebrity pilots. The 20th Living Legends of Aviation Awards, honoring the best in aviation for 2021-2022, was presented on January 20, 2023, at

the Beverly Hilton The Beverly Hilton is a hotel located on an property at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards in Beverly Hills, California. The Beverly Hilton has hosted many awards shows, charity benefits, and entertainment and motion pic ...

Hotel in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

, where they have been held annually since 2007.

History

Jerry Lips, publisher of ''Airport Journals'', came up with the idea of the Living Legends of Aviation at the time of the death of

Michael Chowdry Michael A. Chowdry (1954-2001) was a Pakistani-American businessman who became the founder of American-based cargo carrier Atlas Air in 1992. He was on the Forbes 400 list with a net worth of $920 million, ranked among the richest American busines ...

(founder of

Atlas Air Atlas Air, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, is a major American cargo airline, passenger charter airline, and aircraft lessor based in Purchase, New York. Atlas Air is the world's largest operator of the Boei ...

). ''Airport Journals'' had been collecting and publishing biographies of various aviation personalities and Jerry regretted not having captured Chowdry's history. He began to compile a list of individuals that had made major contributions in the field of aviation, and had those people suggest more names until 70 were collected. These were the biographies that were to be recorded while the individuals were still "living". The list has grown over the years to its present number of 130. As Legends pass on, they are replaced by new inductees, selected by their fellow Legends. Jerry Lips founded the Living Legends of Aviation in 2003 with the charter of celebrating the second century of aerospace. In 2008, Kiddie Hawk Air Academy acquired the rights to the organization and annual awards show from previous owner ''Airport Journals''.

Inductees

Past inductees

Event

Beginning in 2003, an awards show has been organized each year to bring together the Living Legend members for a variety of events. The awards are presented at a prestigious live ceremony, most commonly in mid January following the relevant calendar year. In 2003, the first Living Legends of Aviation Awards were presented at a banquet dinner hosted by ''Airport Journals'' at the

Centennial Airport Centennial Airport is a public use airport owned by the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority in the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area, 15 nautical miles (17 mi, 28 km) southeast of downtown Denver, Colorado, United States. L ...

Englewood, Colorado The City of Englewood is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 33,659 at the 2020 United States Census. Englewood is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stat ...

. To avoid any weather related issues, in 2006 the venue was moved to Southern California and held at the

Hyatt Regency Century Plaza The Fairmont Century Plaza is a landmark 19-story luxury hotel in Los Angeles. Located in Century City, the hotel forms a sweeping crescent design fronting the Avenue of the Stars, adjacent to the twin Century Plaza Towers and the 2000 Avenue of ...

hotel in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Since 2007 the Awards have been presented at

The Beverly Hilton The Beverly Hilton is a hotel located on an property at the intersection of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards in Beverly Hills, California. The Beverly Hilton has hosted many awards shows, charity benefits, and entertainment and motion pic ...

. In 2018 the inaugural Living Legends of Aviation - Europe event was held on July 26, 2018 at the Scalaria hotel & resort in

Salzkammergut The Salzkammergut (; ; bar, Soizkaumaguad, label=Central Austro-Bavarian) is a resort area in Austria, stretching from the city of Salzburg eastwards along the Alpine Foreland and the Northern Limestone Alps to the peaks of the Dachstein Mou ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In 2021 the awards show was cancelled due to the

COVID-19_pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

List of winners

* The award was called the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award prior to 2018. * The award was called the Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year Award prior to 2011, and the Aviation Industry Entrepreneur of the Year Award from 2012–2017. * The award was called the Freedom of Flight Award prior to 2007. * The award was called the Legends Aviation Legacy Award prior to 2009. * The award was called the Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award prior to 2019.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Living Legends of Aviation website

Living Legends of Aviation Europe website

Kiddie Hawk Air Academy website

''Airport Journals'' website

Aviation awards Annual events in Los Angeles County, California