Four aerospace projects and accomplishments are competing for the 2016 Robert J. Collier Trophy, awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America.” The 2016 nominees are Blue Origin New Shepard, Boeing’s 737 Max, Dassault Aviation’s FalconEye Combined Vision System and the U.S. Air Force 212th Rescue Squadron and 249th Airlift Squadron.
Greg Principato, president and CEO of the NAA, will serve as the non-voting director of the selection committee. “For nearly the entire history of aviation, the Collier Trophy has recognized outstanding achievements,” he said. “Even more than that, by shining a bright light on all those advances, the Collier provides an incentive to even greater achievement for those who would come after. Aviation is not a static industry, it — and our society — depends on constant improvement and innovation. The Collier has played a key role in that, and this year’s nominees are in that tradition.”
Past winners include the crews of Apollo 11 and Apollo 8, the Mercury 7, Scott Crossfield, Elmer Sperry and Howard Hughes. Projects and program recipients include the B-52, the Polaris Missile, the Surveyor Moon Landing Program, the Boeing 747, the Cessna Citation, the F-22 and the International Space Station. The 2015 Collier was awarded to the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Selection Committee — consisting of men and women from the aircraft-manufacturing sector, government and not-for-profit sectors — will announce the winner of the 2016 Collier Trophy March 14th at the NAA spring awards dinner held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Washington, D.C. The formal presentation of the actual Collier Trophy will take place at a date and location yet to be announced.
