Hickory – On Tuesday, February 21st, local pilot and airplane builder Jim Woolf will be presented with the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot award. Jim has lived and flown in the Hickory area for 40 years, and has been an active pilot for over 50 years. The ceremony will be hosted by the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) at the Hickory airport, at 7:00pm. Refreshments will be provided and anyone interested is welcome to Local Pilot To Receive Prestigious Awardattend.

Jim served in the Air Force as a mechanic in the 1970s, and retired from a career in telecommunications including many years at Alcatel. Jim has been a mentor and volunteer in the aviation community, has built an airplane, and completed one restoration with a second currently underway. To be eligible for the award, a pilot must have been flying for at least 50 years.

More about our local EAA Chapter:

The Blue Ridge Chapter of the EAA is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit organization whose missions are to promote and encourage recreational aviation, to promote and encourage aviation safety in the design, construction and operation of all types of aircraft, to promote and encourage grass roots efforts relating to aviation research and development, and to promote safety of flight. Many folks know us for our Blue Ridge Chapter of the EAA monthly EAA Young Eagles events, where local pilots donate airplane rides to area youth. We also hold a monthly general meeting, usually at 7:00pm on the third Tuesday of each month, at the Hickory Airport.

Learn more about the Blue Ridge Chapter of the EAA at http://eaa731.org or call/text 828-308-1543

More information about the national EAA organization: https://www.eaa.org/eaa/about-eaa/eaa-media-room