VAN NUYS, Calif. Oct. 11. World-renowned pilot and entrepreneur Clay Lacy was among three aviation pioneers granted the prestigious Pathfinder Award at a fundraising banquet hosted by the Seattle Museum of Flight (Museum) on Saturday, Oct. 9 honoring individuals with ties to the Pacific Northwest who have made significant contributions to the aerospace industry.
Lacy was joined by aerospace executive William E. Boeing, Jr. and The Boeing Company's first female test pilot Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann, whose names and biographies will be displayed at the Museum next to those of 76 other men and women previously honored. Lacy is also an inductee to the National Aviation Hall of Fame and International Aerospace Hall of Fame, and the recipient of numerous industry awards and honors.
Adding special significance, the Museum is where Lacy departed and arrived in a United Airlines Boeing 747SP during his record-breaking Friendship One flight in 1988. Setting a new around-the-world speed record of 36 hours and 54 minutes, the flight raised $530,000 for children's charities worldwide and topped the previous record by 112 miles per hour.
An airline captain, experimental test pilot, air race champion, aviation record-setter, aerial cinematographer and entrepreneur, Lacy has touched upon more aspects of aviation than any other pilot. He has flown more than 300 aircraft types, established twenty-nine world speed records and logged more than 50,000 flight hours. Known as the "pilot's pilot," he has accumulated more air miles flying jet aircraft than anyone on Earth.
Lacy is also the owner and chief executive officer of Clay Lacy Aviation (CLA), founded in 1968 as the first jet charter company on the West Coast and now distinguished as the most experienced operator of private jets in the world. CLA's fixed base operator facilities at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles and Boeing Field in Seattle offer aircraft charter, management, sales, maintenance, avionics, and aircraft interior and completion services. For more information, visit www.claylacy.com.
Pathfinder Award honorees are selected by the Museum's Board of Trustees from among candidates nominated by the Museum, the Pacific Northwest Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and representatives of other leading aviation and aerospace organizations.
SOURCE Clay Lacy Aviation
