Boyer to receive prestigious Donald Engen Trophy from Aero Club of Washington, D.C.

Boyer to receive prestigious Donald Engen Trophy Photo: W.D. Morningstar

The Aero Club of Washington, D.C., on Thursday announced that it has selected AOPA President Phil Boyer to receive the 2008 Donald D. Engen Aero Club Trophy for Aviation Excellence. The award will be presented during the club’s October luncheon on Monday, October 27, 2008.

“I’m deeply honored to receive this award. I admired Admiral Engen and all of his contributions to aviation, including his leadership of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation,” said Boyer. “It was an inspiration working side-by-side with him. And I will never forget flying with him in the AOPA turboprop to El Paso to throw the switch closing the Loran Mid-Continent Gap.

“But truly this honor is to the 415,000 AOPA members who have supported and guided this association. All I really did was take their concerns and translate them into actionable items for the AOPA staff.”

The Engen Trophy is named for the late Admiral Donald D. Engen, former head of the Federal Aviation Administration and director of the National Air and Space Museum. He also served as president of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation. The trophy is given to an individual, team, or organization for a lifetime of achievement in aviation, or a single event or series of events, which reaffirms the Wright brothers’ standard of excellence in aviation.

“In addition to his years as leader of AOPA, Phil has dedicated his life to promoting aviation,” said Susan L. Sheets, president of the Washington Aero Club, in announcing the award. “By his work and actions, he exemplifies the qualities that the Engen Trophy represents, a lifetime of achievements that have provided an enduring value to aviation.”

Established in 1909, just six years after the Wright brothers’ historic first flight, the Aero Club of Washington is among the oldest aviation organizations in the world. Its membership list is a veritable Who’s Who of the aviation industry.