Veteran Pilot, Business Aviation Entrepreneur Clay Lacy to Receive Howard Hughes Memorial Award

Distinguished as one of the most versatile pilots in the history of powered flight, local aviation icon
Clay Lacy will be honored by the Aero Club of Southern California with its prestigious Howard Hughes
Memorial Award on Wed., Feb. 8, 2012. Famed test and aerobatic pilot Bob Hoover will present the
award in recognition of Lacy’s achievements spanning over six decades.

Lacy is a world-renowned pilot who first took to the air at age eight while growing up in the farmland of
Wichita, Kansas during the Great Depression. Now  age 79, he has spent almost every day of his life around airplanes. In 1964, Lacy introduced the first Learjet to Van Nuys Airport (VNY) near Hollywood’s burgeoning entertainment industry. Four years later, he founded the first jet charter company west of the Mississippi,launching a new era in corporate air transportation and mobility.

An airline captain, experimental test pilot, air race champion, aviation record-setter, aerial cinematographer,philanthropist and entrepreneur, Lacy has accumulated more hours flying jets than anyone on Earth and is widely credited with revolutionizing the business aviation and aerial photography industries. Among his nearly 3,000 film projects are Top Gun, Flight of the Intruder and The Great Santini. He is an inductee to the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the recipient of many other prestigious awards.

WHAT: Aero Club of Southern California Howard Hughes Memorial Award Banquet
The Aero Club is a non-profit association founded in 1925 to increase awareness of aviation and to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to aviation and aerospace. Lacy is the 33rd annual award recipient. Past honorees include Jack Northrop, Jimmy Doolittle, Neil Armstrong, Chuck Yeager and Simon Ramo. More than 200 aviation and aerospace luminaries, leaders and enthusiasts are expected to attend.
Event is open to the public and a limited number of tickets are still available.

WHEN: Wed., Feb. 8, 2012, 6 p.m.  Cocktails; 7 p.m. Dinner and Award Presentation

WHERE: The Jonathan Club, 545 S. Figueroa St., in downtown Los Angeles

 CONTACT:  For tickets, call (310) 331-1551 or visit www.aeroclubsocal.org/eventscalendar.html

To arrange an advance interview or photo op with Lacy, call Stacy Geere at (661) 253-1059 or (818) 434-7633.