Mon, Aug 15, 2005
ICAS Foundation Honors Significant Contributions to the Air
Show Industry
The International Council of Air
Shows (ICAS) Foundation has announced that three air show men of
importance will be inducted into the ICAS Foundation Air Show Hall
of Fame. Bill Sweet, Bob Herendeen and Wayne Handley join the ranks
of 24 other aviation greats who have been honored in the Air Show
Hall of Fame since its inception in 1995. The 2005 induction
ceremony will be December 3 during the ICAS convention at the
Coronado Springs Hotel in Orlando, Florida.
Bill Sweet (pictured below) may be best remembered as an
announcer with a distinctive carnival barker flavor, but he did his
most memorable work as the man behind National Air Shows.
Sweet’s productions helped define the air show business in
the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, as he carried on the idea
developed in the barnstorming days of aviation of a traveling
aerial circus with a collection of diverse and amazing pilots,
aircraft and acts.
Bob Herendeen (below) became U.S. National Aerobatic Champion in
his S-1C Pitts in 1966, at a time when the Pitts was mostly known
as a “woman’s airplane.” In the same year he
competed in the World Championships in Moscow in that plane,
arousing considerable interest in Europe. The Pitts eventually
became the most successful and recognized American-built aerobatic
design. Many have said that Bob Herendeen was the best Pitts pilot
of all time.
Wayne Handley (below) will always be remembered for his many
contributions to the air show industry, from his vision and
innovation in designing the Turbo Raven to his advocate role in
safety and his world records. Wayne’s gifts of knowledge and
mentorship to aspiring pilots and performers over the past
twenty-plus years has helped put the air show industry where it is
today.
“The contributions made by this year's inductees helped
shape both the past and the future of air shows,” said
Caroline Trinkwalder, chairman of the International Council of Air
Shows Foundation.
“We are proud to recognize their accomplishments and
celebrate with them."
The ICAS Foundation is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) organization
dedicated to preserving the air show industry's valuable heritage
through cataloging and storing of artifacts, articulating the value
of air shows and demonstration flying to the public, helping
families of those in the air show industry who have suffered
tragedy, and supporting the pilots and performers of the future
through scholarships. In addition to the Hall of Fame, the
Foundation’s programs include several aviation scholarships
which memorialize air show industry leaders and a Family Fund to
assist families when tragedy strikes within the air show
community.
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