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.