The General Aviation Awards program has named its 2011 National GA Award winners.
Joe Morales of Lakewood, Colo., received the 2011 National Aviation Maintenance Technician of the Year award. Morales is the quality control manager and repair station chief inspector for Doss Aviation at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is an airframe and powerplant mechanic with inspection authorization, and a certificated flight instructor. A member of AOPA and the AMT Society, he is an FAA Safety Team representative and a Civil Air Patrol captain.
Russell John “Russ” Callender Jr. of Houlton, Wis., was named the 2011 National Avionics Technician of the Year. He owns RC Avionics at the Anoka County Airport in Blaine, Minn., holds private pilot and repairman certificates, and has serviced aircraft for more than 30 years. A member of AOPA, the Aircraft Electronics Association, and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), Callender specializes in computer drafting and redesign of aircraft instrument panels.
The 2011 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year is Judy Ann Phelps, of Santa Paula, Calif. She is a three-time Master CFI-Aerobatic, specializing in spin, tailwheel, and emergency maneuver training. Phelps also instructs private pilot, commercial pilot, and instrument students at CP Aviation at the Santa Paula Airport . A member of AOPA, EAA, the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE), and Women in Aviation International (WAI), she is an FAA Safety Team representative, a member of The Ninety Nines, and the International Aerobatic Club.
Vicki Lynn Sherman of Deland, Fla., received the 2011 National FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year award. A three-time Master CFI, she is a flight, ground, and simulator instructor who presents FAA Wings Pilot Proficiency Program seminars. She has been a crew member at the FAA Production Studios in Lakeland, Fla., since 1992. A member of AOPA, SAFE, EAA, and WAI, she is a past international president of The Ninety Nines, and volunteers with the National Aviation Safety Foundation.
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt will present the awards at EAA AirVenture 2011 in Oshkosh, Wis. The award winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Oshkosh for themselves and a guest.
The awards, conferred by the National General Aviation Awards Committee, are a government- and industry-sponsored program that recognizes flight instructors, maintenance and avionics technicians, and FAA Safety Team representatives. AOPA is a program sponsor.
Award support and sponsorship is provided by AOPA, EAA, WAI, SAFE, the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, the National Business Aviation Association, the National Association of State Aviation Officials, the National Air Transportation Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the FAA, the AMT Society, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, and the Aircraft Electronics Association. Additional support comes from Advocates for Aviation Safety Foundation, Aeronautical Proficiency Training LLC, Master Instructors LLC, National Aviation Safety Foundation (NASF), and Rich Stowell Consulting.
Dan Namowitz
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