In recognition of her work as the FAA’s national aviation events specialist and principal policy liaison with the U.S. air show community, Sue Gardner was presented with the Bob Hoover Wingman Award during the Chairman’s Banquet.
Gardner was cited for the effort and commitment she has made to establish a partnership between the FAA and the air show community that has focused on improving air show safety without imposing undue regulatory burden on industry.
Specifically, the award presentation remarks noted her efforts to return air show aircraft to the air following the terrorist attacks of September, 2001; her contribution to efforts to harmonize U.S. and Canadian air show policy; her commitment to institutionalizing the prohibition on aerobatic energy directed at the crowd; the major role she played in two major rewrites of FAA air show policy; and the collaborative approach she has brought to her position as national aviation events specialist.
Past recipients of the Bob Hoover Wingman Award include Ross Perot, Jr., Rudy Malnati, Mike Houghton, and the U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation.