34th Annual Crystal Eagle Dinner honoring
Steve Hinton

October 15, 2016

The Aero Club of Northern California invites you to the annual Crystal Eagle Award Dinner honoring Steve Hinton, Reno Racer and former world speed record for piston-driven aircraft.

The event will be at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Road at San Carlos Airport. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m.

The Aero Club also will present National Aeronautic Association Certificate awards to two individuals for their significant contributions to aviation. Scholarships will be awarded to several students enrolled in Bay Area college and university aviation programs. Dinner ticket prices just cover the cost of the event, so we rely upon contributions and Silent Auction bids to fund the scholarships.

Hinton is being honored with the 34^th prestigious Crystal Eagle for his accomplishments as a champion unlimited air racer and former holder of the world speed record for propeller-driven aircraft.

Hinton won unlimited national championships in Reno 1978 in the RB-51 Red Baron and 1985 in the Super Corsair. At his first Reno win, he was 26, the youngest pilot ever to win, a record that stood until his son won in 2009 at age 22. He held the 3-km course world speed record for piston-driven aircraft at 499.019 mph from 1979 to 1989. Again he was the youngest person to hold that record. Hinton retired from air racing in 1990 and since then has flown the T-33 pace plane for the unlimited races at Reno. He is president of the Planes of Fame Air Museums at Chino in Southern California and Valley-Grand Canyon, Arizona. He is owner of Fighter Rebuilders, a military aircraft restoration company, in Chino. Hinton is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and a charter member of the Motion Picture Pilots Association. He has worked on more than 60 films, including Pearl Harbor in 2002.

The Crystal Eagle Award was first presented by the Aero Club in 1983 to legendary aviator Gen. Jimmy Doolittle. Among past recipients are Gen. Chuck Yeager, Stanley Hiller Jr., Jim Nissen,  George Cooper, Jeana Yeager, James S. Ricklefs, Darryl Greenamyer, Clay Lacy, Paul Poberezny, Wayne Handley, Eileen Collins, Sean D. Tucker, Steve Fossett, Brian Shul, C.E. “Bud” Anderson, Julie Clark and Rod Machado.

Aero Club Membership is $40/year and dinner tickets, including museum admission, are $90 each. Reservations are due by October 8, after which a $10 per person late fee applies. Reservations are required; no tickets will be sold at the door. Come join us and help make it a night to remember!
Sincerely,

Max Trescott
President
Aero Club of Northern California