The Australian Aviation Hall of Fame (AAHOF) has appointed new board members in the wake of the retirement of long-time chair Steve Padgett.
New board appointments include former ATSB Chief Commissioner Greg Hood AO as the new AAHOF chair, with aviation identity Jenny Houghton and former RAAF Wing Commander Samantha Freebairn joining the board.
Steve Padgett OAM, Managing Director of flying academy Flight Options and non-Executive Chairman of Alliance Airlines, has been chair of AAHOF for 10 years, and oversaw the fledgling years when AAHOF went from a virtual existence based in Wagga Wagga to a physical presence at Shellharbour Airport.
“I am immensely proud to have led the AAHOF Board for ten years. During that time, we relocated the Hall of Fame to Albion Park where we are now co-sited with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS)," Padgett said.
"We have made considerable progress in expanding our exhibit area to effectively showcase past and future inductees together with existing and future displays. This allows us to showcase and pay tribute to the men, women and organisations who have made outstanding contributions to aviation and aerospace in this nation.
"I am also very grateful for the continuing support we enjoy from our sponsors including Alliance Airlines, AMDA, Viva Energy Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Bendigo Bank and Norton White Lawyers.
"I congratulate the incoming Chair, Greg Hood AO, and welcome the appointments of two new Board members."
Incoming chair Greg Hood paid tribute to Padgett.
“Steve Padgett has been an outstanding Chair of the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame for ten years, leading AAHOF through the move to a new home at Albion Park and through the difficult years of the COVID19 pandemic," he said.
"Thanks to Steve’s leadership, AAHOF is well placed to continue to grow and to honour the past and inspire the future.”
Samantha Freebairn is a former Wing Commander in the RAAF. She has flown both combat and humanitarian relief missions on C-130H Hercules and C-17A Globemaster aircraft, was the first woman in Australia to instruct pilots in the C-17A simulator and has a career highlight of landing on an ice runway in Antarctica. Today she is Senior Manager of Aviation Safety Training at Qantas.
Jenny Houghton is a CPL with Command Instrument and Instructor ratings. She also holds a Balloon CPL and an Examiner rating. Houghton holds a Bachelors degree in Education from Curtin University and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). She has held several positions with the AWPA including Victorian State and National President (1981-83 and 1987-89) and in 1986 was awarded the Nancy Bird Trophy for Outstanding Contribution to Aviation by a woman of Australasia.
In 2002, Houghton was inducted into the Pioneer Women Hall of Fame in Alice Springs, and in 2021 was awarded the Lores Bonney Award for conducting a record-breaking flight of international significance.
Former Qantas Chief Pilot and ATSB Commissioner Chris Manning will continue in his role as Deputy Chair of AAHOF.