MAKE CHAPTER 288 YOUR AVIATION HOME! E-AB, TYPE CERTIFIED, VINTAGE, WARBIRD, ETC.
MAKE CHAPTER 288 YOUR AVIATION HOME! E-AB, TYPE CERTIFIED, VINTAGE, WARBIRD, ETC.
CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS
From the Sun and Fun Facebook page
We are thrilled to announce that Gene Conrad has been named the new President/CEO of Aerospace Center for Excellence and SUN 'n FUN effective April 11, 2022! Conrad, who was born in Oshkosh, WI and resides in Lakeland, FL, has been the Airport Director of Lakeland Linder International Airport since 2010. A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Aviation Management, his previous positions include Deputy Director, Marketing Air Service Development, Branson Airport, Hollister, MO and Air Service Coordinator & Marketing Manager, Dayton International Airport, Dayton OH. During his tenure at Lakeland Linder International Airport, Conrad managed a $200M capital improvement program, negotiated a 50-year lease with Amazon Air Cargo and led the successful relocation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aircraft Operations Center to the airport. Rick Garcia, President/CEO of Gulf Coast Avionics, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Aerospace Center for Excellence said, “Gene’s track record and success here at Lakeland Linder International Airport makes him the best choice for the future of the Aerospace Center For Excellence and the SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo.” Harley Richards, SUN ‘n FUN Board Chairman, stated “The entire Board of Directors are extremely excited to have Gene lead ACE/SnF into the next chapter on our quest to provide unmatched career opportunities for young men and women and drive the SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo to new heights of success.” Having volunteered at EAA AirVenture for over 34 years, Gene is well prepared to acclimate into the volunteer culture of a non-profit aviation organization. He is set to officially join the team on March 7, 2022 to start the transition to be the next CEO following the completion of the 2022 SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo. “After working closely with Gene as the Airport Manager over the last 10 years I can state without reservation that his heart and passion has been to ensure that the future of ACE and SnF was protected for future growth. I am looking forward to seeing ACE/SnF reach new heights of success under his leadership.”, stated Lites Leenhouts, current President/CEO of ACE/SnF. When asked his thoughts on this new challenge, Gene stated, “I am both humbled and honored to be given the opportunity to lead such an incredible organization that just within the last several years has evolved from not only a major aviation expo, but now a nationally recognized Aerospace Youth Education Complex, educating thousands of students annually. I am anxious to join the team and share in my passion for aviation.”
Ken and Lee motorcycled up to Kitty Hawk to fly the Wright Flyer replica. Both were successful and each described the hip controlled, wing warping adventure, as one of the most exciting things they have done (and they've done a lot). Rumor has it their seconds long flights came out to a mere $15,000/hr and both say it was well worth it!!! The noise you hear on the video is not wind - it's Lee screaming during the flight. It was that good! Ken's was nearly identical.
A new video for the 8th Air Force display in EAA's Eagle Hangar, highlighting its 250th bombing mission during World War II has been produced.
Thanks to Propwash/Aero-news.net for this article:
Conceived of as an informal flying club on January 26, 1953 by veteran aviator Paul Poberezny and a group of three-dozen Milwaukee-area aviation enthusiasts, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has since grown to some 270,000 members organized into 900 local chapters—each committed to sharing the spirit of aviation, and in so doing increasing worldwide participation in aeronautical endeavor.
Comes now 2023, and the 70th anniversary of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s founding—an auspicious occurrence of which current EAA CEO and Chairman Jack J. Pelton remarked: “For seven decades, EAA has allowed people to passionately pursue that dream [of flight] with imagination and innovation, as they found kindred spirits that created an aviation movement that has no equal in the history of manned flight.”
While the EAA’s original founding group consisted primarily of individuals enamored of building, restoring, and modifying their own aircraft, today’s organization encompass a far broader scope of aerospace interests, and instantiates Paul Poberezny’s “welcoming all who wished to participate” ethos.
The EAA in 2023—by dint of both its network of local chapters and the considerable resources of its Oshkosh, Wisconsin headquarters and museum—seeks to introduce persons of all ages and backgrounds to the myriad wonders born of humankind’s vast and varied aerospace pursuits.
In addition, the association works to break down social, economic, and regulatory barriers to flight, thereby democratizing aviation and affording any and all individuals so inclined to avail themselves of aviation’s bountiful opportunities.
Of the EAA’s innumerable programs and functions, none is more widely-known or eagerly anticipated than the association’s annual fly-in convention, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. The event is the world’s largest fly-in convention and sees upwards of 600,000 attendees and ten-thousand aircraft converge on Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport (OSH) every July.
Mr. Pelton set forth: “EAA’s founder, the late Paul Poberezny, often said that he never expected this little Milwaukee airplane club to grow into what it has become, but it tapped into a basic aspiration—the freedom to fly.”