Class of 2012
Each year, the NAHF Board of Nominations, a voting body comprised of over 120 air and space professionals nationwide, selects the handful of individuals to be recognized for their aviation achievements through enshrinement into the NAHF. The NAHF Class of 2012 is a diverse group representing a broad range of significant contributions to advancing aviation. The four are:
Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb, record-setting pilot who learned to fly at age 12, was the first and only woman to pass all of the Mercury astronaut selection tests. 1981 Nobel Prize nominee for her pioneering humanitarian work in the Amazon jungle.
Keith Ferris, known world-wide as the “Dean of American Aviation Art,” founded the American Society of Aviation Artists. Also an expert and inventor of aircraft paint systems for military camouflage and high visibility purposes.
The late Lt. Gen. Elwood R. “Pete” Quesada, USAF, helped develop and successfully demonstrate air-to-air refueling in 1929, served as first commander of Tactical Air Command, and later helped establish and helmed the FAA.
The late Richard T. Whitcomb, Acclaimed as the most influential aeronautical researcher of his time, his revolutionary concepts include the Area Rule, Supercritical Airfoil, and Winglets that enable aircraft to fly faster, farther and with less fuel.
The formal enshrinement ceremony, often referred to as “America’s Oscar Night of Aviation,” took place on October 6, 2012 in the Dayton Convention Center - Dayton, Ohio.
Click here to watch Keith Ferris's full biography - produced by the National Aviation Hall Of Fame.
