Bird Receives National Award for Contributions Made on Behalf of Aviation and Aerospace
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December 09, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY – Victor Bird, director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, is the recipient of the Joseph B. “Doc” Hartranft Jr. Award from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the world’s largest aviation association comprised of more than 410,000 members.
Bird is the first non-elected recipient of the Hartranft Award, named for AOPA’s first president, which is presented annually to an elected or appointed government official, federal, state, local, or foreign, who has made significant contributions to the advancement of general aviation. Past recipients include Senators Jim Inhofe, Trent Lott and Dick Durbin, and Congressmen Don Young, James Oberstar, John Duncan and Jerry Costello.
Bird was recognized for his achievements in public policy that have advanced aviation and aerospace.
“We at AOPA are pleased to present Vic with the Joseph P. ‘Doc’ Hartranft Jr. Award for the work he has done on behalf of aviation,” said AOPA President Craig Fuller. “We want to protect general aviation in the long term. We need more than good will; we need good laws. And that’s where public officials can and do make a real difference. Vic has played a huge role in passage of several laws that are going a long way to protect airports and aviation in his home state of Oklahoma.”
Due to Bird’s recommendation and advocacy, the Oklahoma Legislature in 2005 repealed the sales tax on all aircraft repairs. This resulted in a competitive advantage for the vast majority of the more than 500 aviation businesses in Oklahoma as Oklahoma is one of the seven hubs or centers in the world for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft. In 2008, Bird drafted a revision to a law that was seen as anti-business by companies such as Cessna and Hawker-Beechcraft. The revision encouraged these companies to come back and do business in Oklahoma.
Gov.-elect Mary Fallin said, “No one has worked harder than Vic over the last several years to ensure the viability and growth of our aerospace industry, particularly our small aerospace companies. Aerospace is one of our top employers and we have a tremendous opportunity to grow it dramatically. I have worked with Vic in the past to create the Aerospace Summit, and I look forward to working with him in the future to expand this industry. This is an honor well deserved. I’m proud of Vic and proud for Oklahoma.”
Also in 2008, Bird championed the Aerospace Industry Engineer Workforce Bill, landmark legislation that addresses the shortage of engineers in Oklahoma’s aerospace industry. The law provides tax credits for engineers hired by Oklahoma aerospace companies and the companies hiring them. Twenty states have copied or attempted to copy the bill. In 2009, the first year the law was in effect, 348 engineers were hired, 138 more than was estimated. While that came at a cost of $3.55 million to the State, the economic impact of 348 engineers is $270 million. In comparison, Wichita (Kan.) was laying off 16,000 aviation workers in 2009.
“Aerospace is one of Oklahoma’s top three employers, and has been the leading U.S. trade surplus for the last six years. Adequate engineering talent is essential to the vitality of our state’s and nation’s aerospace industry, which is not only critical to our economy but to our national security as well. The air supremacy we have enjoyed since WW II is not possible without our technological edge made possible by superior engineering. Without Vic’s work, the engineer bill would not have passed. I salute him on this well-deserved honor,” said Ken Lackey, chairman of the board at NORDAM.
Just last session, Bird secured the passage of the Aircraft Pilot and Passenger Protection Act. The act protects the lives of aircraft pilots and passengers, and those that live or work around a public-use airport, including military bases, by preventing land use and obstructions near airports that are incompatible with safe aircraft operations.
“As a longtime friend of Vic Bird, I stand proud of his long-term service as director of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission,” said Inhofe. “During a time when our nation faces great economic challenges, Vic and the OAC continue to assist our state’s aerospace industry by promoting aviation and supporting legislation that creates aerospace-related jobs in Oklahoma. As he receives the Joseph B. ‘Doc’ Hartranft Jr. Award from Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, I congratulate his continued efforts to advance and protect the aerospace industry in Oklahoma and nationwide.”
Retired Lieutenant Gen. Thomas P. Stafford said, “Vic Bird is the best spokesperson aviation and aerospace has ever had in Oklahoma. He works tirelessly to advance the interests of aviation and aerospace. He truly is our number one ‘Airvangelist,’ and I salute him on this well-deserved honor.”
The mission of the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission is to ensure that the needs of commerce and communities across the state are met by the state’s 113 public airports that comprise the Oklahoma Airport System, and to foster the viability and growth of the state’s aviation and aerospace industry.
