Glastonbury native to receive FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award

Glastonbury native Kevin Baldwin will be honored with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award during a ceremony on Friday, May 8 at the Hartford Jet Center at Brainard Airport, 20 Lindbergh Drive. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the event begins at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Dress is casual or business casual.

Hosting the award ceremony at Brainard Airport is particularly meaningful because it was Baldwin's original airport home base when he received his FAA-issued pilot certificate in 1970. Years later, Brainard Airport was also the final airport home base for his four-seat Piper Cherokee Warrior.

The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award event will begin with the Fixed Base Operator giving a brief history of Brainard Airport, where Charles Lindbergh started his U.S.A. goodwill tour flying his Spirit of St. Louis airplane after his famous and historic transcontinental flight to Paris, France. Baldwin will then receive the Award, followed by a reception with light refreshments.

Established by the FAA in 2003, the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award honors pilots who have demonstrated 50 or more years of safe flight operations, recognizing their longevity, skill, professionalism and dedication to aviation safety. The award is named after Orville and Wilbur Wright, pioneers of powered flight.

To be eligible for this award, nominees must hold a U.S. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) or FAA pilot certification; have 50 or more years of civil and/or military piloting experience; be a U.S. citizen; have no revoked airman certificates, no accidents or violations; and three letters of recommendation from other FAA-certified pilots and supporting documentation of certifications and flight history.

Baldwin grew up in Glastonbury and was exposed to powered flight at an early age. His father, Mial Earl Baldwin, was a U.S. Navy-Marine pilot in the Pacific during World War II.

For more details, please call the Hartford Jet Center at 860.548.9334.