2006 Nat'l General Aviation Award Winners Named
March 4, 2006 - In each of the past 43 years, the General Aviation Awards Program and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have recognized a small group of aviation professionals for their contributions to aviation safety and education. This awards program is a cooperative effort between the FAA and a dozen industry sponsors.  The selection process begins at local Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) and then moves on to the nine regional FAA offices.  Panels of aviation professionals within the various fields then select national winners from the pool of regional awardees. Recipients of this year's national awards are Richard Loren "Rich" Stowell of Ventura, California, Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI) of the Year; Eugene Charles "Gene" Hudson of Mission Hills, California, Aviation Safety Counselor (ASC) of the Year; Joseph Clemens "Joe" Hawkins of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) of the Year; and Terry David Markovich of Bedminster, New Jersey, Avionics Technician of the Year. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey will present the national awards in July during a "Theater in the Woods" program at EAA AirVenture 2006 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. "These awards highlight the important role played by these individuals in promoting aviation education and flight safety," said JoAnn Hill, General Aviation Awards Committee chairperson.  "The awards program sponsors are pleased that these outstanding aviation professionals will receive the recognition they so richly deserve before their peers in Oshkosh."
2006 CFI OF THE YEAR:  Master CFI-Aerobatic Rich Stowell, a resident of Ventura, California, specializes in spin, emergency maneuver, aerobatic, and tailwheel training. When not conducting training clinics nationwide, he instructs at CP Aviation, Inc., a Part 61 flight school at Santa Paula Airport (SZP). As a teenager growing up in Northwestern New Jersey in the 1970s, Stowell was inspired by the performances of aerobatic legends Leo Loudenslager and Betty Stewart during the annual Sussex Airshow. In 1982, he took his first flying lesson at Sussex Airport in a Piper Cherokee 140.  Two years and 84 hours total time later, he began aerobatic training in a Super Decathlon. Work as a consulting engineer eventually took him to Southern California, where he would spend weekends flying aerobatics from Santa Paula Airport. In 1987, his then-girlfriend (now wife) made a suggestion: "Why not quit your job and give instructing a try for a year?"
As a teenager growing up in Northwestern New Jersey in the 1970s, Stowell was inspired by the performances of aerobatic legends Leo Loudenslager and Betty Stewart during the annual Sussex Airshow. In 1982, he took his first flying lesson at Sussex Airport in a Piper Cherokee 140.  Two years and 84 hours total time later, he began aerobatic training in a Super Decathlon. Work as a consulting engineer eventually took him to Southern California, where he would spend weekends flying aerobatics from Santa Paula Airport. In 1987, his then-girlfriend (now wife) made a suggestion: "Why not quit your job and give instructing a try for a year?" Completely immersed in aviation, Stowell developed and promoted the EMT® (Emergency Maneuver Training) Program. Spinning with pilots from all over the world led to the development of his trademark PARE spin recovery checklist. Designated an "Official Spin Doctor" by the International Aerobatic Club (IAC), Stowell has performed more than 26,800 spins with students - the equivalent to nearly 1,300 vertical miles while spinning. Articles about Stowell's teaching techniques have appeared in Sport Pilot, Flying, AOPA Pilot, and Air & Space magazines, to name a few. He has scripted several aviation videos, including the FAA's "Loss of Control" series, and has written numerous articles for publications such as Aviation Safety, Plane & Pilot, and Flight Training magazines. He has authored three aviation books. The newest, available later this year, is entitled The Light Airplane Pilot's Guide to Stall/Spin Awareness. Stowell conducts numerous safety seminars annually, crisscrossing the US from Alaska to Florida, California to Massachusetts. He has given seminars and instruction in Canada as well as Indonesia and Japan.  He also maintains the Aviation Learning Center web site (www.RichStowell.com).  Stowell upgrades his own piloting skills by participating in the FAA Wings and IAC Achievement Awards Programs.  Holder of NAFI's first Master CFI-Aerobatic accreditation, he also serves as an FAA Aviation Safety Counselor and is a member of AOPA, EAA, IAC, and NAFI.     Stowell (Rich@RichStowell.com) represented the Van Nuys FSDO and the FAA's Western Pacific Region.  This year's other regional CFI winners include Master CFI Michael Berlin of West Hartford, Connecticut (FAA's Eastern Region); Janice Gray Driscoll of Kernersville, North Carolina (FAA's Southern Region); Master CFI Helen D "Pat" Knight of Naperville, Illinois (FAA's Great Lakes Region); Master CFI Janice Walton of Marion, Iowa (FAA's Central Region); and Charles "Bud" Welch of Arkadelphia, Arkansas (FAA's Southwest Region).
2006 ASC OF THE YEAR:  Master CFI Gene Hudson, a resident of Mission Hills, California is the chief flight instructor and president of Gene Hudson Flight Training (www.GeneHudson.com), a Part 61 flight school at Van Nuys Airport (VNY).  He specializes in instrument, high-performance and technically advanced aircraft training.    His interest in aviation developed early while building plastic and balsawood model aircraft.  That led to becoming a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol where, in 1971, he had his first flight in a Cessna 150.  For the next ten years, his flight training was put on hold because of high school, college and a 4-year stint in the US Army's signal corps.  Finally in the mid-1980s, he was able to acquire the necessary certificates and ratings to become a flight instructor, a profession he has practiced since 1987.
An Aviation Safety Counselor (ASC) for more than 18 years, his skills as a lecturer are widely known in southern California.  He regularly offers WINGS safety seminars to standing-room-only crowds on such topics as instrument flying techniques, airspace, landings and the human factors of flight.  He also lectures to local pilot examiners on human factors and the psychology of pilot error as a part of their annual recurrency training.  In each of the past two years, he has made presentations at EAA's AirVenture and AOPA's Expo.  In addition, the FAA frequently calls upon him to provide remedial training to pilots as a substitute for certificate enforcement action.  Hudson also promotes aviation safety through the written word.  His articles have appeared in Plane & Pilot, Private Pilot and SoCal Aviation Review as well as the US Air Force Flight Safety magazine.  He is the author of one book, Instrument Flying Made Easy, and is currently working on a companion volume that will help pilots recognize and recover from vacuum and other failures in instrument conditions.   Continuing to upgrade his own aviation skills, he has taken advanced training to become a Cirrus Standardized Instructor and teaches in the Cessna Pilots Association's operations course.  In 2005, Hudson's flight school was named a Cirrus Standardized Training Center.  Holder of Master CFI accreditation, he is a member of AOPA, EAA and NAFI. Hudson (Flyer190@adelphia.net) represented the Van Nuys FSDO and the FAA's Western Pacific Region.  This year's other regional ASC winners include air traffic controller Andrew Eugene "Andy" Applegate of Nashua, New Hampshire (FAA's New England Region); Randy Lee Coller of Jackson, Michigan (FAA's Great Lakes Region); Homer Glenn Ellis, CFI & AME, of Fort Smith, Arkansas (FAA's Southwest Region); air traffic controller Robin Marie Huston of Wichita, Kansas (FAA's Central Region); Harold Gene "Joe" Johanson of Port Orange, Florida (FAA's Southern Region); John Robert Scott, CFI, of Denver, Colorado (FAA's Northwest Mountain Region); and Frank Scotto, CFI, of Brooklyn, New York (FAA's Eastern Region). The General Aviation Awards program executive committee includes the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) and the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA).  Additional support and sponsorship are provided by Women in Aviation International (WAI), the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the Helicopter Association International (HAI), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA).     Information about the General Aviation Awards Program as well as applications for next year's awards is available on the websites of all sponsoring organizations.