The Living Legends of Aviation is an organization that recognizes accomplished people 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 Hilton 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. The awards are produced by and benefit the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a non-profit 501(c)(3).
The 23rd Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards, honoring the best in aviation and aerospace for 2025, was held on January 23, 2026, at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where they have been held annually since 2007.
The 5th European Living Legends of Aviation Awards will be held from September 4th - 6th, 2026 at Scalaria, Austria.
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
Past inductees
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.Living Legends of Aviation Europe https://www.legendseu.com
In 2021 the awards show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2025 the awards was held on April 25, 2025, postponed due to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.
List of winners
+Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur AwardYearWinner2003 Charles Gates2004 Clay Lacy2005 Steven Udvar-Hazy2006Al Ueltschi2007 James D. Raisbeck2008 Sir Richard Branson2009 Joe Clark2010 Delford Smith2011 J Robert Duncan2012 David Neeleman2013 Frederick Smith2014 Herb Kelleher2016Kenn Ricci2017Robert Bigelow2018Jeff Bezos2019Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond2019S. Harry Robertson2021Craig Sincock 2021Alexandre Couvelaire2022Daniel Drohan2023Laurans Mendelson2023Steve Varsano2024Louis Pepper2025George A. Antoniadis The award was called the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award prior to 2018.
+Eren Ozmen Entrepreneur of the Year AwardYearWinner2003 George F (Rick) Adam2004 Joe Clark2005 Vern Raburn2006 Dale & Alan Klapmeier2007 Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum2008 Linden Blue2009 Elon Musk2010 Lynn Tilton2011 Eren & Fatih Ozmen2012 John Uczekaj2015Thomas Flohr2017Tyson Weihs & Jason Miller2018Ivo Boscarol2019Kenny Dichter2021Jared Isaacman2021Daniel Wiegand2022Tim Ellis2023Kyle Clark2023Dieter Morszeck2024Kaye Gitibin2024Sir Peter Beck2025Steuart Walton2025Philipp Steinbach 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.
+Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight AwardYearWinner2006 Bob Hoover2007 Forrest Bird & George McGovern2008 Emily Howell Warner & Zoe Dell Nutter2009 Kermit Weeks2010 Doolittle Raiders & Sam Johnson2011 Burt Rutan2012 Neil Armstrong & Eugene Cernan2013 Patrick Brady2016 Clay Lacy2018 Walter Eichhorn2023Lance Toland2024Dario Costa The award was called the Freedom of Flight Award prior to 2007.
+Official Ambassador of Aviation AwardYearWinner2007 John Travolta
+Aviation Industry Leader of the Year AwardYearWinner2007 Pete Bunce2008 Ed Bolen2009 Preston Henne2010 Mark Van Tine2014 Michimasa Fujino2016 Phebe Novakovic2018 Brian Barents2021 Marc Parent2021Bin Chen2023Gilles Labbé
+Legends Aviation Inventor AwardYearWinner2008 Si Robin
+Harrison Ford Aviation Legacy AwardYearWinner2008 Harrison Ford2009 Jeffrey Puckett2010 Pat Epps2011 Richard Sugden2012 Greg Anderson2013 Marilyn Richwine & Rhonda Fullerton2014 Mark Baker2015 Scott Terry2016 Peter Paul Luce2017 Jim Inhofe2018 Sean Tucker The award was called the Legends Aviation Legacy Award prior to 2009.
+Steven F. Udvar Hazy AwardYearWinner2017 Gen. Jack Dailey
+Heritage Patriot AwardYearWinner2008William Anders
+Legends Top Flyer AwardYearWinner2008 Paul "Max" Moga
+Aviation Mentor AwardYearWinner2009Kurt Russell
+Aviation Inspiration and Patriotism AwardYearWinner2009 Tom Cruise2010 Sean Tucker2011 Morgan Freeman2012 David Ellison2014 Angelina Jolie2015Miles O'Brien2016Mark & Scott Kelly2018Jim Payne2022William Shatner
+Legends Wings of Hope AwardYearWinner2017Frank Franke
+Out–Of-This-World Landing & Takeoff AwardYearWinner2009Buzz Aldrin
+Cool Captain AwardYearWinner2010 James Lovell
+Lifetime Aviation Engineering AwardYearWinner2010 Frank D. Robinson
+Aircraft of Legend AwardYearWinner2011 Boeing 787 Dreamteam
+Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame AwardYearWinner2012 Roy Morgan2013 Jack Erickson2014 Elling Halvorson2015William "Bill" Chiles2016 Steven Hickok2017 Mike Silva2019 Sergei Sikorsky2021Lon & Brenda Halvorson2022Max Lyons 2023Lauren Sánchez2024Randy Waldman The award was called the Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award prior to 2019.
+Lifetime Aviation Industry Leader AwardYearWinner2012 James Albaugh2013 Bruce N. Whitman2015Ray Conner2017David Joyce2018Jean Rosanvallon2022Mike Silvestro2023Mark Burns2023Guillaume Faury2024Ronald Draper2025Tony Lefebvre
+Jeff Bezos Freedom Wings AwardYearWinner2018 Jeff Bezos2019 Capt. James Lovell
+Doolittle Raiders Special Induction AwardYearWinner2015Dick Cole & David Thatcher
+Kiddie Hawk Children's AwardYearWinner2015 Col. Gail Halvorsen
+Dream Chaser AwardYearWinner2018 Eren & Fatih Ozmen
+World’s Safest, Longest Continuous Operating Airline AwardYearWinner2018 Leigh Clifford
+Legends Wings of Help AwardYearWinner2018 Stefan Aust2019 Claus & Gunnar Heinemann2019 Thomas Schrade2021 Bernd Breiter
+Changing Lives With Aviation AwardYearWinner2018 Dick DeVos
+Legends Technology AwardYearWinner2018 Bertrand Piccard
+Technology Innovation AwardYearWinner2019 Robert Machtlinger & Hu Huazhi
+Stratospheric Explorer AwardYearWinner2019 Alan Eustace +Aerospace Inspiration AwardYearWinner2021Oliver Daemen +Barron Hilton Aviation Inspiration AwardYearWinner2021Zara Rutherford 2022Mack Rutherford2024Amanda Lee2025Xyla Foxlin +Dr. Sam B Williams Technology AwardYearWinner2023Linden Blue2023Markus Bucher2024Burt Rutan2025Patrick Waddick +Dr. Buzz Aldrin Space Advancement AwardYearWinner2024Jared Isaacman & Scott Poteet & Sarah Gillis & Anna Menon2025Elon Musk
See also List of aviation awards Oswald Watt Gold Medal National Aviation Hall of Fame
References
External links Living Legends of Aviation website Living Legends of Aviation Europe website Kiddie Hawk Air Academy website Airport Journals website Inductee portraits through 2007