UAA Awarded 2008 Brewer Trophy
Arlington, Virginia, July 24, 2009 – The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) announced that the University Aviation
Association (UAA) will receive the prestigious Frank G. Brewer Trophy for Aviation Education. The award is presented annually
for significant contributions of enduring value to aerospace education in the United States.
For 60 years, UAA has served as the voice of collegiate aviation. The organization has a long record of promoting and supporting
collegiate aviation programs; providing educational and professional development opportunities for the faculty and students;
offering scholarship opportunities and promoting collegiate aviation through industry organizations. Throughout the aviation
industry today you will find industry leaders and other professionals who graduated from many of UAA’s member schools.
The award will be presented at the NAA Fall Awards Banquet on Monday, November 2 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington,
Virginia. For more information, please visit
www.naa.aero
.
The BTAEA extends our congratulations to our friends at UAA.
Award Citations
The citations accompanying all awards have been added to our
Award Recipients page.
Trophy Replica at Udvar-Hazy
The Docents of the National Air and Space Museum, recipient of the 2005 Brewer Trophy, have placed their award replica on
display at The NASM Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. If you are near Dulles Airport in northern Virginia please visit the museum
that opened in December 2003. Click on this link:
Udvar-Hazy official site.
Elder Statesman Award
Arlington, Virginia, September 25, 2008 – The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) announced the recipients of this
year’s Wesley L. McDonald Elder Statesman of Aviation Awards. Phil Boyer, Frank Brewer, Jr., Oliver R. Crawford and
John T. Race will be honored at the NAA Fall Awards Banquet on Monday, November 3 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington,
Virginia.
Frank G. Brewer, Jr., is being honored for "a lifetime of statesmanship and dedication and contributions of significant value
to aeronautics." Brewer has a long history in aviation. His family wished to honor the achievements of those involved in educating
young people about aviation. The Brewer Award was first presented in 1943 and has become "the nation's highest award for a
lifetime achievement of enduring value in the field of aviation education".
The Elder Statesman awards were established in 1954 to honor outstanding Americans, who, by their efforts over a period of
years, have made contributions of significant value to aeronautics, and have reflected credit upon America and themselves.
Previous winners have included Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Scott Crossfield and Chuck Yeager.
2008 United States Young Aviation Artist Contest
WASHINGTON, DC – The Brewer Trophy Aviation Education Association (BTAEA), in partnership with the American Society
of Aviation Artists (ASAA), is pleased to announce its contest winners.
View / download the entire press release (pdf) and visit our
Photos Page to view the artwork by the National winners.
In Memorium - Don Lopez
We recently received this news from Jack Dailey, Director of NASM. Don Lopez was a long-time friend of aviation education
and the Brewer Trophy. The BTAEA encourages you to donate to the memorial fund.
It is with great sadness that I share the news of the death of Don Lopez, long-time deputy director of the National Air and
Space Museum. He passed away with his family by his side on Monday, March 3 at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC. He was
84 years old.
As you know, Don had been with the Smithsonian and the National Air and Space Museum since 1972. He was a renowned fighter
pilot, test pilot, engineer, professor, author, and dear friend to all of us associated with the National Air and Space Museum.
Don is survived by his wife Glindel, his son Donald Lopez Jr., daughter Joy Lopez and granddaughter, Laura Lopez. The family
has asked that anyone who would like to honor his memory make donations to the National Air and Space Museum Donald S. Lopez
Memorial Fund:
Donald S. Lopez Memorial Fund
National Air and Space Museum
Development Office
MRC 321 PO Box 37012
Washington DC 20013-7012
We have created an online tribute to Don, which includes a three-segment video of Don recalling his time as a pilot during
WWII and a section where you can share your own personal stories or thoughts about Don. Click on this link:
http://www.nasm.si.edu/museum/lopez
or paste the link into your browser.
2008 United States Young Aviation Artist Contest
Announced For America’s Youth
WASHINGTON, DC – The Brewer Trophy Aviation Education Association (BTAEA) today announced the 2008 United States Young
Aviation Artist Contest, in partnership with the American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA).
The announcement was made jointly by Frank G. Brewer, III, President of the Brewer Trophy Aviation Education Association,
and Kristin Hill, President of the American Society of Aviation Artists.
Download full press release (pdf)
Feik receives Brewer Award
In recognition of over 65 years of personal and professional dedication to aviation education as a teacher, mentor, innovator,
pilot, engineer and leader to America’s youth, Colonel Mary S. Feik has been awarded the 2006 Frank G. Brewer Trophy.
View photo of Col. Feik and more
The Brewer Trophy is awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association to an individual, a group of individuals, or
an organization for significant contributions of enduring value to aerospace education in the United States.
“To be given such an honor as the Brewer award for something that you’ve enjoyed for so many years is simply awesome,”
says Feik. “If you’ve had a career with so much joy in it and met so many wonderful people in it, then to be honored
and recognized for all that joy on top of everything… it’s just tremendous.”
A childhood barnstorming ride in a Curtiss Jenny when she was just seven years old, combined with her father’s instruction
in mechanics and his mantra, “Aim high and follow your dreams,” eventually led Feik to a job as a teenager working
in an aircraft maintenance shop. That was followed by a long career, teaching aircraft maintenance and mechanics for the U.S.
Army Air Forces at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. She is credited with becoming the first woman engineer in research and development
in the Air Technical Service Command Division and much later, in 1996, became the first woman to earn the Charles Taylor Master
Mechanics Award.
Feik flew more than 6,000 hours as a pilot in fighter, attack, bomber, cargo and training aircraft to determine flight maintenance,
safety training requirements and also qualified as a B-29 Flight Engineer. In 2004, she received the Civil Air Patrol Distinguished
Service Medal and was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
She was also responsible for designing and building the first Captivair, an experimental prototype training device for pilots
using operational aircraft on pylons that could quickly be returned to air service after serving as training aids. Her prototype
became a standard design used on many different high-performance fighter aircraft and foreshadowed the development of the
flight simulators and other training devices in use today.
Feik worked for the National Air and Space Museum for ten years, first as a docent in the museum on the National Mall, then
as a Restoration Specialist at the museum’s Paul E. Garber Restoration Facility. She now restores historic aircraft
and teaches restoration techniques for antique and classic aircraft to young people and aviation club members. In addition
to conducting aircraft maintenance and airplane fabric workshops for youth, Feik spends much of her time traveling –
at her own expense – to speak with youth and leaders at college campuses, museums and aviation organizations and is
a member of the Careers in Aviation Board.
Common themes in her teaching include the values instilled in her by her father and her military colleagues: Teamwork, the
importance of technical training, and pride in workmanship.
Feik has received many honors in her long and storied career, including three Civil Air Patrol Regional Brewer awards. In
2003, she was named among the “100 most influential women in aviation and aerospace industries over the last 100 years”
by Women in Aviation International. As of December 2002, all Civil Air Patrol cadets working towards the rank of Cadet Senior
Airman are awarded the Mary S. Feik Achievement, the third achievement in the cadet program.
“So much of this – all these tremendous honors – is so far beyond the purview of what I might have ever
thought was possible at various points throughout my life,” says Feik. “The real honor however,… it’s
the kids. My legacy is going to be the youngsters that I have either taught or that I have influenced in one way or another.
As far as I’m concerned, there isn’t a greater honor. There just isn’t.”
A full interview with Col. Mary S. Feik will appear in an upcoming issue of NAA's
AERO Magazine. The 2006 Brewer Award
will be awarded to Feik later this year.
