American Aerospace Pioneers Converge on Dayton for Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Four American visionaries of flight are to be honored for their contributions to aviation on July 17 at the 49th annual Enshrinement Dinner & Ceremony at the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) in Dayton, Ohio, the birthplace of flight and a national leader in the aerospace industry, according to the Ohio Business Development Coalition, the non-profit organization that markets the state for capital investment.

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The 2010 inductees will join the roster of 203 men and women of aviation who have been honored by the NAHF. The NAHF will recognize the following:

• Capt. Alan Bean, USN (Ret.) – Bean served as a lunar module pilot for Apollo 12 and commander of the Skylab 3 mission. He is now a noted artist.
• Warren G. Grimes – Grimes is noted as the "father of aircraft lighting" and the inventor of aircraft navigation instruments.
• Clay Lacy – Lacy is an over 50,000-hour pilot, business aviation entrepreneur and cinematographer for many Hollywood pictures, including Top Gun and The Right Stuff.
• Noel Wien - Wien was an Arctic flight expert who founded Wien Alaska Airlines, one of the oldest airlines in the United States. He is listed as one of the 10 greatest pilots of all time.

The 2010 Milton Caniff "Spirit of Flight" Award recipient will be the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), an organization representing the interests of business aviation. The award is bestowed annually upon an organization in recognition of its achievement in advancing aviation.

"As home to 24 astronauts and two internationally recognized flight innovation centers, Ohio has always been at the forefront of aerospace development," said Ron Kaplan, NAHF enshrinement director. "It is a privilege every year to honor the nation's leaders in aviation, and welcome them to the birthplace of flight."

Ohio is the nation's leader in advanced propulsion and derivative power technology, providing a world-class research environment that includes two dedicated federal aerospace laboratories – Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton and NASA Glenn in Cleveland – and ten aerospace related doctoral programs at Ohio universities. Graduates of these institutions provide a cluster of highly skilled and educated workers. Ohio's aerospace industry is supported by the state's Ohio Third Frontier, a $1.6 billion initiative to help catalyze connections between companies and academia.

"Ohio is home to some of the best and brightest talent in the aerospace industry, and continues to provide the necessary resources to allow both businesses to succeed and for individuals to pursue their professional and personal aspirations without having to sacrifice one for the other," said Ed Burghard, executive director of the Ohio Business Development Coalition. "Ohio truly is the State of Perfect Balance."

Tickets to the enshrinement reception are still available for purchase. For information or to order tickets, please call 937-256-0944 at extension 10.

About the National Aviation Hall of Fame

The NAHF is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in Dayton in 1962 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1964. Its mission is to honor America's outstanding air and space pioneers, which it does through a 17,000 square-foot public Learning Center featuring interactive exhibits, a youth education program, its annual enshrinement ceremony, and other public outreach programs. For more information, visit www.nationalaviation.org.

About the Ohio Business Development Coalition

The Ohio Business Development Coalition is a nonprofit organization that provides marketing strategy and implementation to support Ohio's economic development efforts. For more information, visit www.ohiomeansbusiness.com.

SOURCE Ohio Business Development Coalition