Living Legends of Aviation

The Living Legends of Aviation is an organization of remarkable people of extraordinary accomplishment in aviation and aerospace including: entrepreneurs, innovators, industry leaders, engineers, astronauts, record breakers, pilots who have become celebrities and celebrities who have become pilots. The Living Legends meet yearly in North America at The Beverly and in Europe every-other-year at the Scalaria Resort at a 15th century castle on the Wolfgangsee near Salzburg, Austria. Inductees and Awards are selected by the Living Legends of Aviation and by committees within the organization. These most prestigious awards are produced by and benefit the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a non-profit 501(c)(3).

The 21st Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards, honoring the best in aviation and aerospace for 2022–2023, were held on January 19, 2024, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where they have been held annually since 2007.

History
Jerry Lips, publisher of Airport Journals, came up with the idea of the Living Legends of Aviation at the time of the death of Michael Chowdry (founder of Atlas Air). Airport Journals had been collecting and publishing biographies of various aviation personalities and Jerry regretted not having captured Chowdry's history. He began to compile a list of individuals that had made major contributions in the field of aviation, and had those people suggest more names until 70 were collected. These were the biographies that were to be recorded while the individuals were still "living". The list has grown over the years to its present number of 128. As Legends pass on, they are replaced by new inductees, selected by their fellow Legends.

Jerry Lips founded the Living Legends of Aviation in 2003 with the charter of celebrating the second century of aerospace. In 2008, Kiddie Hawk Air Academy acquired the rights to the organization and annual awards show from previous owner Airport Journals.

Inductees
• Chuck Aaron

• George F (Rick) Adam

• James Albaugh

• Buzz Aldrin

• William Anders

• Bud Anderson

• Siegfried Angerer

• Mark Baker

• Brian Barents

• Felix Baumgartner

• Laurent Beaudoin

• Jeff Bezos

• Tony Bill

• Linden Blue

• Ed Bolen

• Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady

• Sir Richard Branson

• Pete Bunce

• Julie Clark

• Danny Clisham

• Ray Conner

• Tom Cruise

• Gen. Jack Dailey

• Alvaro-Jaime de Orléans-Borbón

• Robert Dewar

• Iren Dornier

• Bonnie Dunbar

• J. Robert Duncan

• Walter Eichhorn

• Tom Enders

• Pat Epps

• Jack Erickson

• Alan Eustace

• Greg Evans

• Greg Feith

• Rick Fiddler

• Edsel Ford II

• Harrison Ford

• Morgan Freeman

• Michimasa Fujino

• Kenny G

• Bruno Gantenbrink

• William Garvey

• Randy Gaston

• Fred George

• Stephen Grey

• Charles Gordon-Lennox

• David Greschke

• Charles Hall

• Brenda Halvorson

• Lon Halvorson

• Tom Haines

• Preston Henne

• Greg Herrick

• Sir Stephen Hillier

• Steve Hinton

• Skip Holm

• Craig Hosking

• David Hurley

• Jared Isaacman

• Miguel Iturmendi-Copado

• Charles B. Johnson

• Michael Kendrick

• John King

• Martha King

• Joe Kittinger

• Alan Klapmeier

• Dale Klapmeier

• Sergei Krikalev

• Clay Lacy

• Amanda Wright Lane

• John Leahy

• Rod Lewis

• Jerry Lips

• Capt. James Lovell

• Kim Lundgren

• Shane Lundgren

• Robert A. Lutz

• Sheik Al Maktoum

• T. Allan McArtor

• Bruce McCaw

• Maj. Gen. Carl McNair

• Ulf Merbold

• Russell W. Meyer, Jr.

• Roy Morgan

• Elon Musk

• David Neeleman

• Steve Oliver

• Suzanne Asbury Oliver

• Eren Ozmen

• Fatih Ozmen

• Marc Parent

• Jack Pelton

• Ross Perot Jr.

• Bertrand Piccard

• Nick Popovich

• Jeffrey Puckett

• Vern Raburn

• Kenn Ricci

• Si Robin

• Frank D. Robinson

• Jean Rosanvallon

• Kurt Russell

• Burt Rutan

• Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud

• Richard Santulli

• Barry Schiff

• Sergei Sikorsky

• Craig Sincock

• Frederick W. Smith

• Chesley Sullenberger

• Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

• Lynn Tilton

• John Travolta

• Sean Tucker

• Louis Turpen

• Dieter F. Uchtdorf

• John Uczekaj

• Steven F. Udvar-Hazy

• Patty Wagstaff

• Kermit Weeks

• Mark Welsh

• Rainer Wilke

• Gregg Williams

• Martin Withers

• Daniel Wolfe

Past inductees
• Paul Allen

• Neil Armstrong

• Hank Beaird

• Forrest Bird

• Col. Frank Borman

• Jimmy Buffett

• Gene Cernan

• Joe Clark

• Dick Cole

• Harry Combs

• Tom Danaher

• Hal Fishman

• Larry Flynn

• Steve Fossett

• Charles Gates

• Elling Halvorson

• Hamish Harding

• Milan Haven

• Alfred Haynes

• Tex Hill

• Barron Hilton

• Bob Hoover

• Dee Howard

• Herb Kelleher

• Niki Lauda

• Bill Luckett

• George McGovern

• John Myers

• Zoe Dell Lantis Nutter

• Robin Olds

• Arnold Palmer

• Robert E. Petersen

• Paul Poberezny

• Tom Poberezny

• Sydney Pollack

• Bob Pond

• James D. Raisbeck

• James Ray

• Cliff Robertson

• Dick Rutan

• Wally Schirra

• Carroll Shelby

• Delford Smith

• Murray Smith

• Ed Swearingen

• David Thatcher

• Paul Tibbets

• Al Ueltschi

• Emily Howell Warner

• Bruce N. Whitman

• Carl M. Willams

• Sam Williams

• Treat Williams

• Chuck Yeager

Event
Beginning in 2003, an awards show has been organized each year to bring together the Living Legend members for a variety of events. The awards are presented at a prestigious live ceremony, most commonly in mid January following the relevant calendar year.

In 2003, the first Living Legends of Aviation Awards were presented at a banquet dinner hosted by Airport Journals at the Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colorado. To avoid any weather related issues, in 2006 the venue was moved to Southern California and held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles. Since 2007 the Awards have been presented at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.

In 2018 the inaugural Living Legends of Aviation - Europe event was held on July 26, 2018 at the Scalaria hotel & resort in Salzkammergut, Austria.

In 2021 the awards show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

List of winners

 * The award was called the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award prior to 2018.


 * The award was called the Aviation Entrepreneur of the Year Award prior to 2011, and the Aviation Industry Entrepreneur of the Year Award from 2012–2017.


 * The award was called the Freedom of Flight Award prior to 2007.


 * The award was called the Legends Aviation Legacy Award prior to 2009.


 * The award was called the Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award prior to 2019.