Writer

Amy Wilder

At the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s (NAHF) annual enshrinement ceremony, history and future often meet on the same stage. For 2025 enshrinee and retired general Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton, that moment arrives not only with applause and acclaim, but in the shining eyes of a six-year-old boy seated beside him in the Joe Clark Innovation Lab at one of this year’s summer camps.
Newton, who is NBAA chairman emeritus, joined those volunteering this summer to foster NAHF’s educational programs, helping to open the door to possibilities.
The boy at the summer camp was overcome with nerves while trying to ask Newton a question about airplanes, but found himself gently invited to the general’s side, where Newton, with calm and kindness, began chair flying, describing the principles of flight using an imaginary cockpit in the space in front of them. Later, when asked what he’d remember most from camp, the youngster said simply, “Sitting next to General Newton.”
That moment, said NAHF president and CEO Aimee Maruyama, is the kind of inspiration the NAHF hopes to spark every day. That’s the kind of moment that plants the seeds for the future of aviation to grow. And with the industry facing a deficit in its workforce (not just pilots, but also mechanics, engineers, and leaders), which is projected to grow as demand increases over the coming decades, that is critical.
<h2>The Mission beyond the Medal</h2>
Since its founding by Congress in 1964, the National Aviation Hall of Fame has inducted more than 260 individuals who have shaped American aviation and aerospace. But in recent years, its mission has evolved beyond honoring pioneers—it serves as a public trust dedicated to sharing their stories as a gateway to inspire the next generation.
“We honor aviation legends to inspire future leaders,” Maruyama said. “That’s the flip side of our mission. It’s not only about preserving the legacy, but about using these stories to ignite curiosity and confidence in young learners.”
Maruyama, who came to the NAHF as a contractor to develop education initiatives and then stepped into her current role in June 2023, has worked to transform the organization’s footprint in Dayton, Ohio—where it’s co-located with the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force—into a hub for interactive learning and STEM engagement.
The Heritage Hall &amp; Education Center is home to NAHF’s exhibits, immersive content, and the recently completed Joe Clark Innovation Lab. Named for the late enshrinee whose winglet innovations revolutionized fuel efficiency and emissions, the Lab is a 1,600-sq-ft space that hosts field trips, camps, and design challenges.
The Lab is part of a broader educational pivot launched in 2019, which includes a PBS Kids-partnered curriculum that has reached more than 6,000 classrooms and 250,000 students in Ohio and beyond, and a suite of in-person programs built to reach students before confidence gaps form. “Research shows that fifth and sixth grade are a critical window,” Maruyama explained. “If you don’t capture their interest by then, many students—especially girls and underrepresented groups—start to doubt they can pursue STEM.”
In response, the Hall’s Discovering Flight initiative offers project-based learning modules, lessons drawn from the biographies of enshrinees, and hands-on STEM activities. Maruyama said the goal is to provide students with both role models and real tools for exploration. “We want kids to connect with the human stories behind aviation,” she shared. “That it’s not just about machines—it’s about imagination, perseverance, and the belief that they belong here.”
<h2>General Newton: From Farmer’s Son to Four-star General</h2>
Among the 2025 inductees, Lloyd “Fig” Newton embodies the arc from dream to legacy. Newton has long advocated for access and equity in aviation, emphasizing early exposure and hands-on learning. “If we don’t reach young people early,” he said, echoing Maruyama, “they might never realize they belong in this field. Aviation isn’t just about being a pilot. It’s design, mechanics, control systems—an entire world that too many kids never get to see up close.”
He speaks from personal experience. Newton’s first flight came in college at Tennessee State University aboard a Piper J-3 Cub. The experience changed his life. “I was near the end of my freshman year when I took that ride,” he recalled. “After that, I knew I wanted to fly for the Air Force.”
Born in Ridgeland, South Carolina, in 1942 to parents who had not completed high school, Newton grew up on a farm and watched planes from nearby Air Force bases cross the sky. The idea that he could pilot one of those aircraft seemed remote to him at the time. He enrolled in aviation coursework and joined Air Force ROTC. He earned his pilot wings and went on to fly 269 combat missions in Vietnam—79 of them over North Vietnam in the F-4 Phantom.
In 1974, Newton became the first African-American pilot to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. He commanded three air wings and one air division, became the Air Force’s first Black four-star general to lead a major command—the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), and served as a congressional liaison officer.
He has continued to advocate for aviation and training, serving in public roles. Newton’s leadership in business aviation is anchored by his long service with NBAA, where he was first elected to the board of directors in 2010 to fill a vacancy. At the time, he was also serving on the board of Goodrich Corporation. He was elected NBAA chair in 2017 and was named the organization’s first chair emeritus in 2023. After his military retirement, Newton held the role of executive v-p of international military business development at Pratt &amp; Whitney, where he supported both military and civil aviation programs.
His deep belief in training—emphasizing the importance of repetition, empowerment, and trust in education—has carried through his military service and into education advocacy. At his home in South Carolina, he helped co-found a project-based charter school built around critical thinking and real-world problem solving. “Every child brings something different,” he said. “We need to individualize education so they can see themselves in the work.”

<h2>Training, Training, Training: What Builds an Aviation Career</h2>
For Newton, the soul of aviation lies not only in flight but in preparation. Whether speaking of his early days as a flight instructor or his tenure at the U.S. Air Force Air Education and Training Command, Newton returns again and again to the same refrain:
“Training, training, training, and more training,” he says. “That’s how you take someone just out of high school and have them maintain a multimillion-dollar aircraft within a year. You build it step by step. It’s how we fly in close formation, how we fly safely, how we lead.”
Newton’s belief in the power of simulation and realistic mission rehearsal grew stronger during his time in Special Operations. Long before artificial intelligence and augmented reality became buzzwords in education and defense circles, Newton was practicing full-mission scenarios in simulators that could replicate real-world terrain, weather, timing, and even adversarial threats.
“We could go to the simulator and run the entire mission—see the actual photos of where we were going, the layout of the target area, practice what might go wrong and how to respond,” he said. “That changed everything. You’re not just flying a profile. You’re preparing your mind to make real decisions in real time.”
That mindset—anticipating the unexpected, practicing under pressure, and relying on muscle memory and mental acuity—has become a pillar of modern aviation safety. Newton sees today’s digital simulation tools as a continuation of that effort, but cautions that fidelity must be matched with psychological realism.
“There’s something your mind knows in a simulator: that you can’t get hurt,” he said. “So when you’re in the actual aircraft, it’s different. There’s risk. There’s consequence. And you have to train your mind to account for that, not just go through the motions.”
He calls it the missing element in over-reliance on technology: “Instinct doesn’t come from a screen. It comes from repetition, observation, and reflection. And trust—trust in the aircraft, trust in your wingman, trust in the training.”
That trust is what Newton saw in Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s famed 2009 emergency landing on the Hudson River. When US Airways Flight 1549 lost power in both engines and controllers offered options to return to the airport, the&nbsp;captain decided to ditch in the river instead—a move that saved all 155 people on board.
“People think that was luck,” Newton said. “It wasn’t luck. That was experience. That was hundreds of hours of training and thousands of hours of flight time. Sully didn’t pause and ask what the simulator said. He knew. He had it in his bones.”
Newton’s philosophy is as much about leadership as it is about flying. When he was with the Air Force, he made it a point to mentor student pilots who were struggling with formation flying. “Before we even thought about washing someone out, I’d say: Let me fly with them first,” he said. “I believed anyone could learn it if they were willing.”
Whether on the battlefield, in training airspace, or at a charter school project lab in South Carolina, Newton’s core message is the same: preparation empowers confidence. Repetition builds instinct. And with the right kind of training, young people can exceed even their own expectations.
“There are no shortcuts,” he said. “But if you build it right, the outcome is extraordinary.”
<h2>The Future Takes Flight</h2>
This year’s enshrinement ceremony will take place in September, continuing a tradition that dates back more than half a century. Though the event now rotates cities, the NAHF’s anchor remains in Dayton, birthplace of powered flight.
For Maruyama and Newton, that historical link is more than symbolic. “We’ve always had legends,” Maruyama said. “But we’re also building a legacy that lives in the present—through a kid’s question, a spark of curiosity, or a new door that opens.”
Newton put it another way: “There’s no flight without lift. And when you lift someone up—through training, encouragement, or a seat at the table—you’re giving them the chance to fly.”

<h2>The Class of 2025</h2>
The NAHF 2025 Class of Enshrinees is being honored in the 61st annual induction ceremony in September in Wichita, Kansas, with the 2026 slate set to be announced during NBAA in October.
This year’s honorees are:
Julie Clark—a retired commercial airline pilot and aerobatic performer. She flew for Golden West and Hughes Airwest, retiring in 2003 as captain on Northwest Airlines’ A320 fleet.
John Goglia—a longtime aviation safety expert and former NTSB board member who served from 1995 to 2004. A certified A&amp;P mechanic, he was the first to bring that technical background to the agency’s highest level. A former AIN contributor, Goglia was known for his strong advocacy that helped in the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994.
Mae Jemison—first African‑American woman to fly into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Before NASA, she served as a Peace Corps medical officer in West Africa and earned degrees in chemical engineering and medicine from Stanford and Cornell Universities.
Lloyd “Fig” Newton—first African-American Thunderbird pilot and four-star general who has served as an advocate for business aviation and education, including as chair of NBAA.
Phoebe Omlie (posthumous)—barnstormer, pilot, aircraft mechanic, and the first woman pilot to work at the Bureau of Air Commerce (a predecessor of the FAA) and for NASA.
Frank Robinson (posthumous)—founder of Robinson Helicopter Company and the designer of the popular R22, R44, and R66 light helicopters. He was a pioneering aerospace engineer known for making rotorcraft more accessible and affordable.
The NAHF receives between 20 and 50 new nominations annually, though more than 400 candidates remain in consideration across years. Nominees go through multiple rounds of review and selection each year, with four to six enshrinees selected annually.
“Once nominated, you’re eligible every year going forward,” Maruyama said. “It’s both a tremendous honor and a complex process.”
That process begins with a 50-member Board of Nominations, comprising professionals from across the aviation industry. In the first round of review, board members are divided into groups and tasked with evaluating whether nominees meet the NAHF’s charter criteria: having made significant contributions to American aviation or aerospace. Top candidates from each group advance to a second round, where members rank finalists on a scale of one to 10.
The highest-scoring nominees are then reviewed by two key bodies: the NAHF Board of Trustees and the body of living enshrinees. Final approval rests with the trustees, checking across all nominations, many of which span decades and continue to evolve.
“Some of these nominations date back to the 1960s,” Maruyama noted. “We wanted to make sure we were preserving accuracy—and recognizing that lives and accomplishments can continue to grow long after someone’s name is first submitted.”

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