TMCnet News
Prestigious Aviation Award Named after Flexjet ChairmanOne of the world's most esteemed aviation awards has been renamed to honor Flexjet Chairman Kenn Ricci. On January 19, 2018, the Living Legends of Aviation honored him by renaming its annual award for lifetime accomplishments in aviation entrepreneurship the "Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award." This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006358/en/ 
Flexjet chairman Kenn Ricci, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Jan. 19. Ricci received the Living Legends of Aviation Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur award in 2017 and became the namesake of the award in 2018. At the organization's Jan. 19 gala, Ricci introduced the winner of the Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award - Robert T. Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace. (Jordan Strauss/AP Images for Flexjet/ Living Legends of Aviation) Living Legends of Aviation was founded in 2003 to honor men and women of extraordinary accomplishments in aviation. The organization also financially supports the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, a nonprofit organization that introduces children to aviation through the Kiddie Hawk Air Trainer and a curriculum that includes aviation coloring books, principles of flight and actual flight lessons, albeit a few feet off the ground. It seeks to create a sense of wonder and interest in aviation that will last a lifetime and inspire children to achieve the academic merit that will enable them to pursue aviation-related careers. Since the Kiddie Hawk Air Trainer was first displayed in 1996, thousands of children have participated in the program. "I am deeply honored that the Living Legends of Aviation has named its Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award after me," said Ricci. "And for this honor to come from the very aviation entrepreneurs that I have admired over the years, make this truly a pinnacle in my career." This year's Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award was bestowed upon Robert T. Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace and a pioneer in developing commercially viable, habitable space structures. This video captures Ricci's vision and accomplishments. "I believe that the aviation and aerospace industries are on the cusp of advances that will forever change flight, with possibilities ranging from hypersonic flight to autonomous passenger aircraft to commercial travel into space," said Ricci. "It is up to our generation to prepare the next to achieve more than we did. One way to accomplish this is through public and private programs of education, training and outreach." Ricci added that he is motivated in part by the philanthropic examples set by such previous recipients of the Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award as Steven Udvar-Házy, co-founder of Air Lease Corp., and the late Albert Ueltschi, said to be the father of modern flight training. Programs that expose new audiences to aviation are a passion point for Ricci and the Ricci Family Foundation. Ricci and the Ricci Family Foundation are avid supporters of Kiddie Hawk Air Academy as well as Able Flight at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, which provides people with disabilities, many of them military veterans, the ability to challenge themselves through flight training via a specially equipped Sky Arrow L600 sport plane. In addition to renaming the award, the organization has included Ricci in what has become an unofficial Living Legends of Aviation tradition. An exclusive edition Breitling watch has been handed down to a select few aviators to mark unique and momentous events in their careers. Kenn Ricci recently received the watch to mark this occasion. Previous recipients have included Living Legends of Aviation member John Travolta and actor Tom Cruise. "Like other honorees of the Living Legends of Aviation, I have benefitted from the accomplishments and generosity of those who came before me," Ricci said. "I intend to give back in the same measure, and help the rising generation of aviation professionals succeed." About Flexjet Flexjet first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing. Flexjet's fractional aircraft program is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation's Industry Audit Standard, is the first and only company to be honored with 18 FAA Diamond Awards for Excellence, upholds an ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating and is IS-BAO compliant. Flexjet's fractional program fields an exclusive array of business aircraft-some of the youngest in the fractional jet industry, with an average age of approximately six years. In 2015, Flexjet introduced Red Label by Flexjet, which features the youngest fleet in the industry, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are more than 25 different interior designs across its fleet, which includes the Learjet 75LXi, Challenger 350, the Embraer Legacy 450, Global Express, the Gulfstream G450, G500 and G650, and the Aerion AS2 supersonic business jets. In addition, the overall jet collection includes the Embraer Phenom 300 and Bombardier Challenger 300. Flexjet is a member of the Directional Aviation family of companies. For more details on innovative programs and flexible offerings, visit www.flexjet.com or follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) @Flexjet and on Instagram @FlexjetLLC.
About the Living Legends of Aviation
About the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006358/en/ |
