Arkansas Aviation Historical Society is a non-profit organization promoting aviation. It created the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame in 1980, and recently created college scholarships in hopes of encouraging young people to pursue aviation careers. The Aviation Hall of Fame honors individuals who played a great role in aviation and aerospace history on the national or Arkansas scene. Records are hosted by Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Arkansas Studies Institute, Central Arkansas Library System, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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History
New members to the Hall of Fame were inducted annually from 1980 to 2010, and again in 2015. Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame inductees for 2015 were Jim Gaston, John Knight and James R. Risner. The hall of fame was based at the new Aerospace Education Center, 3301 East Roosevelt Road, Little Rock, Arkansas, near Little Rock National Airport, in 1995. When the Aerospace Education Center closed its doors on January 1, 2011, records were moved to the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Arkansas Studies Institute, which still hosts the records.
In 2015, the society awarded its first two scholarships, while expressing the need for aviators to support the dreams of potential young pilots. Two students at Arkansas' collegiate aviation school, Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, received scholarships of $2,000 each.
Hall of Fame Inductees
1980 J. Caroll Cone, Nathan Gordon, Louise McPhetridge Thaden, James S. McDonnell Jr., Charles M. Taylor
1981 Leighton Collins, Case Hough, Robert Snowden Jr., Admiral John S. Thach
1982 Raymond J. Ellis, Capt. Field Kindley, Claude Holbert
1983 Maj. Gen. Earl T. Ricks Jr., Lynn Helms, Albert A. Vollmecke
1984 Brig. Gen. John D. Howe, Maj. Gen. Winston P. Wilson, Eddie Holland
1985 Brig. Gen. William T. Seawell, Gen. John Paul McConnell, Maj. Pierce W. McKennon
1986 Maj. Gen. Frank A. Bailey, M.T. “Cy” Bond, Earl Rowland
1987 Maj. John H. White, Lucien M. Tallac
1988 Richard Collins, Lt. Wendel A. Robertson
1989 Capt. E. Scott McCuskey, Sanford N. McDonnell
1990 Rear Admiral George M. “Skip” Furlong Jr., John Paul Hammerschmidt
1991 Rear Admiral F. Taylor Brown, Frederick Smith
1992 Adm. William Newell Small, Lt. Col. Woodrow W. Crockett
1993 Emma W. Hall, Seth Ward
1994 Lt. Col. Hugh Mills, James Rodgers, Jack Stephens
1995 Col. Richard O. Covey USAF, Floyd Fulkerson, Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller
1996 Maj. Gen. Lewis E. Lyle, Lt. Roy Rushing, Issac T. Gilliam IV
1997 Houston J. Burford, Richard C. Butler, Harvey C. Couch Jr., Wheat Goss, Bart Gray, Dr. Lafayette Harris, Harry W. Pfeifer Jr., Arthur Phillips, Jack Pickens, John Potts, Raymond Rebsamen, J. V. Satterfield, Howard Stebbins III, Everett Tucker Jr., and Kenneth Pat Wilson
1998 Milton P. Crenchaw, J. Scott Hamilton, Col. Charles P. O’Sullivan
1999 Frank G. Tinker Jr., Fred K. Darragh Jr., Gen. Horace M. Wade
2000 Jim Burnett, Anthony DeSalvo, Lt. Gen. Charles R. Hamm
2001 Alice Walton, Jim Younkin
2002 Rodney Slater, H.A. Thomas
2003 Thomas N. Smith Jr., Brig. Gen. William H. Webster, Capt. Wilbur West
2004 Lt. Col. Robert Hite, James Stamps, Robert M. Wilson
2005 Marlon D. Green, Virginia "Mary" Proctor, Daryl Riddell
2006 Richard N. Holbert, Donald L. Holbert, Robert A. Younkin
2007 Adolphus H. "Pat" Bledsoe Jr., Zemery Melvern "Jack" Stell, Dennis R. Gardisser Ph.D., P.E.
2008 Paul Irving "Pappy" Gunn, Scott E. Parazynski M.D.
2009 Greg Arnold, Col. Billy G. Edens
2010 Brig. Gen. Paul Page Douglas Jr., James C. "Bud" Mars, Mary F. Silitch
2015 Jim Gaston, John Knight and James R. Risner
2016 Lynn C Hooper, David Wallace, Jesse Vincent