Entries invited for 2018 Combs Gates Award

This year’s award ceremony will take place during a special session of the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) annual meeting and convention, Oct. 16 to 18 in Orlando, Florida. NAHF and NBAA officials and previous NAHF enshrines will make the award presentation.

Judges will independently review each award submission for historical accuracy, creativity, its potential for long-term impact, and value to the Dayton, Ohio-based NAHF’s mission of honoring America’s outstanding air and space pioneers.

The winning applicants will be notified by Aug. 25, NAHF said in a news release.

Harry Combs, enshrined in 1996, established the Combs Award to encourage and support historic research and preservation in aviation. The award’s name was changed to the Combs Gates Award a decade later to honor John Gates, a partner with Combs in several aviation businesses, including the Combs Gates FBO chain, and Gates Learjet.

Dennis R. Jenkins won the 2017 Combs Gates Award for his three-volume work, Space Shuttle: Developing an Icon 1972-2013. His award was presented by a group consisting of 2001 enshrinee and retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Joe Engel; aerobatic performer Sean D. Tucker, a 2008 enshrinee; Clay Lacy, enshrined in 2010; NBAA President Ed Bolen; Gates; and members of the NAHF Board.

For more information about NAHF, or to request a 2018 Combs Gates Award application, please visit the NAHF website.