L to R: Dave Whetton (Rolls-Royce), Ken Perich (NAHI), Tom Gribbin (RARA), Neil Armstrong, Bob Hoover, Frank Schelling (2006 NAHI & People’s Choice recipient), Linda Shiner (editor, Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine), Joe Engle and Ron Kaplan (NAHF).
A number of aviation heroes joined Rolls-Royce to recognize the winners of the Western Regional of the National Aviation Heritage Invitational held in conjunction with the Reno National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev., Sept. 14-17.
The 2006 Grand Champion of the Rolls-Royce Aviation Heritage Invitational was Frank R. Schelling of Pleasant Hill, Calif., with his 1918 Curtiss JN-4H “Jenny.” The owner restored the aircraft and Air Fab of Hollister, Calif., did the covering. Additionally, the Jenny earned the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s People’s Choice Award, as voted by thousands of air race fans and enthusiasts viewing the 30 aircraft over the four-day event. The Heritage Trophy is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
The 2006 Grand Champion of the Rolls-Royce Aviation Heritage Invitational was Frank R. Schelling’s 1918 Curtiss JN-4H Jenny. The Jenny also earned Schelling the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s People’s Choice Award.
Winners in other categories included Antique (Orville and Wilbur Wright Trophy), a 1932 Waco QDC restored by owner Alan Buchner, Fresno, Calif.; Classic (Paul E. Garber Trophy), a 1939 Lockheed 12A owned by Leslie Whittlesey of Coto de Caza, Calif., and restored by Lockheed Stink Works; and Warbird (Henry “Hap” Arnold Trophy), a 1942 Curtiss P-40-K, owned by Ron Fagen, Granite Falls, Minn., and restored by Warhawks Inc.
Ron Kaplan, executive director of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, and Ken Perich, executive director of the National Aviation Heritage Invitational and VP of market development at Rolls-Royce, assisted in the presentations. Additional help came from aviation legends Neil Armstrong, former X-15 pilot and first man to walk on the moon; Gene Cernan, Apollo astronaut and last man to walk on the moon; Maj. Gen. Joe Engle, former X-15 pilot and space shuttle astronaut; and Bob Hoover, former air show and test pilot.
Frank R. Schelling accepts the NAHI 2006 Grand Champion trophy.
The National Aviation Heritage Invitational encourages preservation of aviation history through the restoration of aircraft to original flying condition. The invitational, founded in 1998, is a joint effort under the partnership of Rolls-Royce North America, the National Aviation Hall of Fame, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the Reno Air Racing Foundation. 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.
For more information, visit [http://www.heritagetrophy.org].
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- L to R: NAHF Executive Director Ron Kaplan, NAHF enshrinees Joe Engle, Gene Cernan, Neil Armstrong and Bob Hoover, and NAHI Executive Director Ken Perich line up for the NAHI trophy presentation.
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- The winner of the NAHI Paul E. Garber Trophy, in the Classic category, was this 1939 Lockheed 12A owned by Leslie Whittlesey of Coto de Caza, Calif., and restored by Lockheed Stink Works.
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- This 1942 Curtiss P-40-K, owned by Ron Fagen, Granite Falls, Minn., and restored by Warhawks Inc., took top honors in the NAHI Warbird category, winning the Henry “Hap” Arnold Trophy.
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- Throngs of fans turned out to admire their favorite restored aircraft among the NAHI contestants. A record 30 aircraft competed for the coveted trophies that included the NAHF People’s Choice Award.
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- Joe Engle, NAHF enshrinee, was keynote speaker at an NAHI banquet held at the National Auto Museum in Reno. He demonstrated flight characteristics of the X-15 he encountered as one of the 12 test pilots to fly the experimental aircraft.
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- Airline historian Ruth Richter Holden is the new owner of this beautiful 1937 Lockheed Electra 12A. Her father, Paul Richter, cofounder of TWA, originally owned the aircraft.
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- L to R: Bill Begue of NetJets and his wife Nancy meet with WWII Mustang ace Clayton Kelly Gross at an NAHI dinner, just after Gross’ sidesplitting presentation on how his autobiography came to be.
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- L to R: NAHF nominee Steve Fossett and wife Peggy visit with Jennifer and Bernie Poppert (Air & Space Museum restoration department and chief judge of the Rolls-Royce Heritage Invitational).