Neil A. Armstrong Aviation Heritage Trophy Awarded

National Aviation Heritage Invitational 

Announces 2012 Awards to Restored Aircraft
and Inaugural Recipient of the 

Neil A. Armstrong Aviation Heritage Trophy

National Aviation Hall of Fame Enshrinees joined presenting sponsor Perform Air in awarding the Grand Champion Neil A. Armstrong National Aviation Heritage Invitational Trophy to the:
•    1944 OY-1 Consolidated Vultee Stinson. This splendid aircraft is owned by Duncan Cameron of Lebanon, TN. Restoration by Duncan Cameron and Tom Westfall.

Winners in other categories:
•    Antique-Orville and Wilbur Wright Trophy:  1937 Stinson SR-9F – owned by Richard Rezabek of New Meadows, ID.
•    Classic-Paul E. Garber Trophy: 1952 Cessna 195B. Owned by Jay Carter of Twain Harte, CA. Restoration – Factory original.
•    Military-Admiral James Stockdale Trophy:  1965 Bell Helicopter UH-1H Huey. 25th Infantry Division. Owned by Mike Haus and Chris Miller of Concord, CA.
•    Large-Howard Hughes Trophy:   1929 Ford Tri-Motor. Owned by John Siebold of Williams, AZ. Restored by Valle Airport, AZ.
National Aviation Hall of Fame People’s Choice Award: the 1965 Bell Helicopter UH 25th Infantry Division.
“Today in honor of a great American hero, we proudly unveiled the Neil A. Armstrong Aviation Heritage trophy,” said Ken Perich, Executive Director of the National Aviation Heritage Invitational. “We are delighted   to host 23 aircraft for this year’s competition. This ‘flying museum’ is full of aviation history.”
Assisting in the trophy presentations to the winning owners were National Aviation Hall of Fame Enshrinees Dick Rutan, Clarence ‘Bud’ Anderson, Herb Kelleher, R.A. ‘Bob’ Hoover, Clay Lacy and Sean Tucker. , accompanied by National Aviation Heritage Invitational Ambassador, Robert ‘Hoot’ Gibson.
The Heritage is held in conjunction with the Reno National Championship Air Races and celebrates aviation treasures. This endeavor is a joint effort under the auspices of Perform Air, the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the Reno Air Racing Foundation, with support from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Reno Air Racing Association, Air Transport World, Airmail Greetings, Air and Space Smithsonian Magazine, LiveAirShowTV, The Perich Group and Speed News.
The National Aviation Heritage Invitational encourages preservation of aviation history through the restoration of aircraft to original flying condition. The Invitational was founded in 1998. A five-member panel, including representatives of the National Air and Space Museum, judges each aircraft on its technical merit and how well it represents the aircraft early in its career. Authenticity to the original manufacturer’s condition is the “gold standard” for each plane.
More information can be found at www.heritagetrophy.org