Two pilots stood on the ramp at golden hour, plaques in hand and a polished Cessna behind them — and a century of flying between them. The moment marked something rare: fifty years each of safe, steady time aloft, now recognized by the people best equipped to understand what that takes.
We’re proud to share that two members of our chapter — Norm Isler and Dave Hurd — have each received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, the most prestigious honor the FAA bestows on civilian pilots. They were honored alongside fellow aviator Jim Martin of another chapter, pictured with them.
What the Award Means
The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award recognizes pilots who have flown safely for 50 years or more — half a century of decisions made right, weather respected, and airplanes brought home. It isn’t given for a single feat or a record. It’s earned one flight at a time, across decades, and it also honors those who spent those years mentoring and inspiring other pilots along the way.
Once earned, a recipient’s name is added to the FAA’s permanent Roll of Honor — a record that outlives all of us.
Recognized by Their Peers
For Norm Isler, that’s exactly what makes it matter.
“The thing that means a lot to me is that it’s a recognition by our peers — it’s a recognition by other pilots saying you did something right, and you did it for 50 years,” Norm said.
Many of you already know Norm and Dave from these pages. We featured Norm’s ELA Eclipse Evo gyroplane — ordered at Oshkosh, built in Okeechobee — and we’ve told the story of Dave Hurd’s Glasair. Fifty years of flying doesn’t happen by accident; it’s the same patience and care that shows up in a well-kept airplane and a well-briefed flight.
Why It Matters to Us
These awards are a quiet argument for how we do things. Every scenario we talk through, every careful preflight, every honest hangar conversation about a flight that didn’t go to plan — that’s the culture that gets a pilot to fifty years. Norm and Dave are proof that flying safely for a lifetime isn’t luck. It’s a habit, built and shared.
Join Us
Congratulations, Norm and Dave — from all of us. If you’d like to meet the people behind stories like this one, come out to our next chapter meeting. Newcomers are always welcome, and you never know who you’ll be standing next to on the ramp.