Events

February 2011 Wichita Aero Club Luncheon

The Wichita Aero Club is pleased to host the Charles A. & Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation for the February Business Luncheon. A panel of experts, moderated by John and Martha King of King Schools, will discuss the Foundation’s work related to aviation, the environment, current trends and innovations.

Aviation, the Environment & the Future
Networking 11:15 am • Luncheon 11:45 am

This month’s luncheon is featuring:

John & Martha King – Co-chairmen, King Schools, Inc. Board Member, Lindbergh Foundation Moderators John and Martha are the first couple to each hold every category and class of FAA rating on their pilot and instructor certificates. Martha is the first and only woman to achieve this complete ratings sweep. They remain active in many categories, regularly flying everything from jet and piston airplanes and helicopters to weight-shift trikes and powered parachutes. They have enjoyed periodically serving as back-up pilots for the Fujifilm blimp. They have flown the blimp over such events as the Kentucky Derby, the Davis Cup, the Super Bowl, the U.S. Open tennis tournament, and the Experimental Aircraft Association convention at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Nearly every pilot has taken a King course at one time, and almost half of each year’s crop of new private and instrument pilots in the United States use King Schools’ educational materials. FAA Certificates & Ratings: Everything

Gregg Maryniak – Director, McDonnell Planetarium Vice Chairman, Lindbergh Foundation Chairman, Executive Committee of the Board of the X PRIZE Foundation Topic: Current projects in alternative fuel and new propulsion Gregg Maryniak is the Vice President, Energy and Aerospace of the St. Louis Science Center and Director of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium. He formerly served as Executive Director of the X PRIZE Foundation, Senior Scientist (and Manager of Energy and Exploration Programs) of the Futron Corporation, President of the Sunsat Energy Council and Chief Executive Officer of the Space Studies Institute of Princeton. He is the Co-Chairman of the Department of Energy and Environment at Singularity University, hosted by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics named him a Distinguished Lecturer for his presentation, “The Harvest of Space.” He received the Space Frontier Foundation’s Vision to Reality Award for his role in creating the Lunar Prospector Mission launched in 1998. FAA Certificates & Ratings: Instrument rated, commercial pilot

John L. Petersen – Founder, Arlington Institute Board Officer, Lindbergh Foundation Topic: Big trends in GA for the future that highlight the importance of the environment In 1989 John Petersen founded The Arlington Institute (TAI), a non-profit, future-oriented research institute that operates on the premise that effective thinking about the future is impossible without casting a very wide net. The “think tank” serves as a global agent for change by developing new concepts, processes and tools for anticipating the future and translating that knowledge into better present-day decisions. Using advanced information technology, a core group of bright thinkers and an international network of exceptionally curious people along with simulations, modeling, scenario building, polling and analysis, Arlington helps equip leaders and organizations from many disciplines with tools and actionable perspectives for dealing with uncertain times. An award-winning writer of several books, Mr. Peterson is a decorated naval flight officer and veteran of both the Vietnam and Persian Gulf conflicts. He has attended the National War College and the Institute for National Security Studies, and served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on the National Security Council staff at the White House. FAA Certificates & Ratings: Private, former naval aviator

David Treinis – Principal, Blacksheep Consultants, LLC Vice Chairman, Lindbergh Foundation Topic: Introduction of the Lindbergh Foundation’s new aviation-environment program An airline transport-rated and sailplane pilot, DavidTreinis specializes in aviation-based projects, including serving as Executive Vice President at the X PRIZE Foundation. He is also active in a number of aviation organizations including the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA), Civil Air Patrol (CAP), National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI), Soaring Society of America (SSA), and the American Bonanza Society. FAA Certificates & Ratings: Airline Transport, CFII, Single, Multi-Engine and Glider, Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE)

Kermit Weeks, Founder, Fantasy of Flight Museum Board Member, Lindbergh Foundation Topic: Benefits to aviation sector from new sensitivity of and progress in dealing with environmental issues Kermit Weeks began his aviation career in 1973, while still in his teens, building his own aircraft. By the age of 20, he had progressed to flying in aerobatic competitions. Over a dozen years beginning in 1978, he placed in the top three of the World Aerobatics Championship five times and won a total of 20 medals. He won the U.S. National Aerobatic Championship twice, as well as several invitational Masters Championships in worldwide competitions. The Florida native’s aviation interests expanded to include the acquisition, restoration and preservation of antique aircraft. In 1985, he began operating the Weeks Air Museum in Miami, a non-profit facility that housed much of his private collection and other antique aircraft owned by the museum. Hurricane Andrew severely damaged the museum and many of its aircraft in 1992, but it was reopened in 1994. A year later, Mr. Weeks launched the Fantasy of Flight near Walt Disney World in Polk City. It allows the public to see part of the world’s largest privately held vintage aircraft collection, which now numbers more than 140 aircraft, and show, via fascinating themed exhibits and displays, moments from aviation’s storied past. FAA Certificates & Ratings:

Larry Williams – CEO, BRS Aerospace Chairman, President & CEO, Lindbergh Foundation Past Chairman, GAMA Safety Affairs & Training Committee Topic: Charles Lindbergh and Lindbergh Foundation History Larry Williams is Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer, at Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., in South St. Paul, Minnesota. BRS develops, engineers, and manufactures whole-aircraft recovery parachute systems for use with defense, general aviation and recreational aircraft. The emergency parachute systems are designed to bring down the entire aircraft and its occupants in the event of an in-air emergency. Previously Williams served as Vice President of Business Development for AmSafe Aviation in Phoenix, Arizona – the world’s leading manufacturer of aviation restraint systems. Williams has a degree in Fire and Safety Engineering Technology from Eastern Kentucky University and is a graduate of the Aviation Safety program at the University of Southern California. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a Nuclear Weapons Technician and received the Air Force Commendation Medal in 1980. He currently chairs both the Lindbergh Foundation Board and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s Safety Affairs and Training Committee. FAA Certificates & Ratings: He is a licensed pilot.

Cost of monthly luncheons is $30.00 for members, $40.00 for non-members. Vegetarian lunches available on request.

Credit card payment is available by phone and on the Web site. Walk-up attendees are welcome.

or by calling 316.641.5962
or by emailing [protected email address]