North Dakota high school teacher selected as 2015 A. Scott Crossfield Aerospace Educator of the Year


Mike McHugh to receive $5,000 award during National Aviation Hall of Fame “Oscar Night of Aviation” on October 2 in Dayton, Ohio

(DAYTON, Ohio – August 31, 2015)   The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) announced today that Mike McHugh, the Aviation Instructor at the Bismarck Career Academy in Bismarck, North Dakota, has been selected as the 2015 A. Scott Crossfield Educator of the Year.  McHugh will receive the honor, including a $5,000 cash award, during the NAHF 53rd Annual Enshrinement Dinner and Ceremony on Friday, October 2, in Dayton.  The presentation will precede the inaugural NAHF Neil Armstrong Outstanding Achievement Award and the induction of four air and space pioneers in the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015.

The Crossfield Award, founded in 1986 by NAHF enshrinee, engineer and test pilot, the late A. Scott Crossfield, is a juried annual competition to recognize one K-12 teacher for his or her exemplary use of aerospace in their classroom curricula.  McHugh’s accomplishments include providing students with hands-on flight instruction and simulator training, aircraft construction and maintenance experience, and aligning industry experts with his students to encourage their pursuit of aviation careers and personal development.  His leadership has advanced enrollment and led to his role in advising other communities seeking to replicate his success.

Former astronaut and enshrinee, Joe H. Engle, and Adam Moulton, grandson of Crossfield, will present McHugh his award.  The black-tie dinner and ceremony takes place in the NAHF Learning Center and the adjacent National Museum of the United States Air Force.  Widely known as America’s “Oscar Night of Aviation”, the celebration’s 650 guests include former NAHF enshrinees Engle, astronaut James A. Lovell, Tuskegee Airman Charles E. McGee and engineer S. Harry Robertson.

The ceremony, led by emcee David Hartman, features the formal installment of the NAHF Enshrinee Class of 2015:

Gen. Robert L. Cardenas, USAF (Ret) –  WWII B-24 combat pilot, test pilot for
record-breaking X-plane programs, SE Asia fighter-bomber wing commander, and Air Force Special Operations pioneer.

The late Robert N. Hartzell – Early manufacturer of wood aircraft propellers, later
designing lightweight, controllable metal propellers that helped develop the general aviation industry.

Eugene “Gene” Kranz – Air Force fighter pilot, aeronautical engineer, and 37 years in
spaceflight operations at NASA including the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Shuttle mission programs.

The late Abe Silverstein – NACA aerodynamicist in WWII and early supersonic aircraft
development, later credited at NASA as the architect of the U.S. space program and “The Father of Apollo.”

The Class of 2015 brings the number of men and women NAHF enshrinees to 229.  The Enshrinement is open to the public however advance reserations are required and the event is expected to sell out.  A limited number of sponsor tables also remain available.

The NAHF is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in Dayton in 1962 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1964.  Its mission is to honor America’s outstanding air and space pioneers, which it does through a 17,000 square-foot public Learning Center featuring interactive exhibits, a youth education program, its annual enshrinement ceremony, other public outreach programs, and collaboration with like-minded organizations.

For more information visit the NAHF website at www.nationalaviation.org or call 937-256-0944 ext.11.

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Ron Kaplan
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