The Australian Women Pilots Association (AWPA) turned out in force at the Australia Aviation Hall of Fame (AAHOF) to see their organisation win the Southern Cross Award on Saturday night.
On a night when inventor of the slide raft Jack Grant, patron of the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race Sir Macpherson Robertson, and GippsAero founders George Morgan and Peter Furlong were inducted into AAHOF, around 80 AWPA members filled the seats at a sold-out induction dinner.
The event was held at AAHOF's own space upstairs at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) at Shellharbour Airport, NSW.
They were part of an audience that heard stories of aviation pioneers and their contributions to the industry, most posthumously, but in the case of George Morgan, in person. Several of the guests were family, friends and colleagues of the 2024 crop of inductees.
Jack Grant, whilst Operations Safety Superintendent at Qantas, invented the inflatable escape slide raft. Initially, it was only for Qantas aircraft, but is now mandatory on all major airlines, playing a large part in saving passenger on US Airways 1549, which ditched on the Hudson River in 2009.
Chocolate king Sir Macpherson Robertson was known for his philanthropy across several areas, and in 1934 extended that to aviation by sponsoring the MacRobertson Air Race from London to Melbourne. The event highlighted the potential of international air travel and raised the profile of Australia in the eyes of the world.
George Morgan and Peter Furlong were inducted separately, but cannot be separated in the annals of Australian aviation history. The two founded GippsAero, a company modifying Piper Pawnees by supplemental type certificate. It went on to develop the GA 200 Fatman aerial ag aircraft, and the iconic GA8 Airvan.
When the inductions were complete, AAHOF patron Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, Chair of CASA, presented the Southern Cross Award to the AWPA, accepted by president Flt Lt Sarah Hume.
It caused a raucous response from the AWPA tables.
AAHOF was boosted this year four new additions to the board: Jenny Houghton, Samantha Freebairn, Patrick Hornby and Ian Badham.
Aviation lawyer Ben Martin and Terry Hetherington retired from the board, which is chaired by former Airservices, CASA and ATSB executive Greg Hood.
The four 2024 inductees brings the total number to 61, with 12 organisations receiving the Southern Cross Award, including this masthead.