Tonight at its Salute to Excellence banquet and awards ceremony, now in its 49th year, HAI honors individuals and organizations in the international helicopter community for outstanding achievement. The association announced the winners of this year’s awards in December. The festivities start at 8 p.m. at Hilton Americas-Houston.
Rolls-Royce Excellence in Helicopter Maintenance Award
Robert “Bob” Peterson has worked for Portland, Ore.-based Columbia Helicopters as a hydraulics systems specialist for nearly 40 years. Drafted into the military in 1963, he spent five years in the Air Force working on the hydraulic systems of nearly every aircraft in its inventory. After leaving the service, he earned his A&P mechanic certificate before joining Columbia in 1972. He was soon promoted to hydraulic shop chief, a position he would hold for more than 30 years. Under his supervision, numerous component wear factors improved 100 percent, a factor that has contributed to Columbia’s high mission availability rate. He is currently the hydraulic systems specialist in the company’s maintenance marketing group.
