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Bob Hoover Academy
In late March, my sister and I had the pleasure of attending the 2018 R.A. “Bob” Hoover Trophy Awards hosted by AOPA in Washington D.C. Actor and general aviation advocate Harrison Ford was the recipient. In just its third year, AOPA President Mark Baker noted that the event’s trophy is presented to an “aviator who exhibits the airmanship, leadership and passion for aviation and life demonstrated by Bob Hoover.”
For years, Ford has been a voice for our industry, using his spotlight to promote general aviation and spread awareness of its impact on communities. He has volunteered for the Young Eagles program, testified before Congress on behalf of airports and served closely with AOPA on a number of other initiatives. But during his acceptance speech, Ford said little of himself, and instead swiftly transitioned the attention toward aerobatic pilot Sean Tucker (last year’s trophy recipient, and the presenter of the 2018 award). Ford spent his time on the stage discussing Sean Tucker’s brainchild, the Bob Hoover Academy in Salinas, California.
“Using the metaphor of aviation and flight, Sean is using Bob’s legacy to create social justice,” said Ford. “He’s helping kids one at a time pull themselves up out of dire circumstances and it’s an amazing thing to see.”
The Bob Hoover Academy is a non-profit organization which provides a high school curriculum geared toward STEM and aviation. The program merges education and flight in an effort to change lives of at-risk teens living in the surrounding area. And the privilege of flight is not just handed to them; students must excel in the ground curriculum and earn their spot in the flight training program.
“We’ve got to help out here,” Ford added. “This needs to be a program that can be replicated and used to advance aviation, social justice and humanity.”
Ford’s passion was evident and spurred me to find out more through further research. Subsequently, it is now one of my goals in my new position to help spread the word of exceptional efforts and programs like this. I believe we can all find a way to use aviation to positively influence our communities and promote the growth of future aviators. •I encourage you to support the Bob Hoover Academy, or programs like it, and let us collectively add threads to this great tapestry.
(To learn more about the Bob Hoover Academy, visit
www.bobhooveracademy.org). T&T
In Response to Kevin Ware’s “It’s All About the Ice”
I just wanted to say I enjoyed Kevin Ware’s excellent and informative piece regarding icing in the Pacific Northwest (May 2018 issue). We may have passed in the dark at altitude in years gone by. I was the aviation manager for GTE for many years with Citations based in Paine and Camarillo, California. Back in the day, climbing eastbound from Paine across the Cascades during a winter warm front in our earlier King Air A100 was much like your story.
Now retired in Yakima, I have a Cessna P210. My biggest transition from jets to the 210 was rethinking its lack of capability in weather and icing. Last week, I went IFR Selah-Beezr- Bandr-KPAE and Center kindly allowed me to stay at 9,000 westbound to avoid icing as you so aptly described. My P210 is equipped with FIKI, but the FAA neglected to mention that the certification is good for about 10 minutes in the moderate stuff.
Keep up the good work, John Davis
Washington
In Response to David Miller’s “That’s What Friends are for”
Great piece! God has provided me the talent and time to fly. He has provided an aircraft for me to “manage.” There is no greater joy than serv- ing Him by serving others via Wings of Mercy, Angel Flight and Veterans Airlift Command. Such a humbling honor and experience.
P.S. Plus a good pilot is always looking for flying opportunities and an excuse to exercise the plane.
Michael Miller Michigan
Airmail
July 2018
TWIN & TURBINE • 3