Collier Trophy

Robert J. Collier Trophy
Baltimore sculptor Ernest Wise Keyser crafted the 525 pounds (238 kg) Aero Club Trophy. It was officially renamed the Robert J. Collier Trophy in 1944
Awarded for"the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year."[1]
Country United States
Presented byNational Aeronautic Association (NAA)
First awarded1911; 113 years ago (1911)
Websitenaa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/collier-trophy
Herbert Hoover presents the 1929 Collier Trophy to NACA Chairman Joseph Ames for the NACA cowling

The Robert J. Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautic Association (NAA),[1] presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year."[1]

Robert J. Collier, publisher of Collier's Weekly magazine, was an air sports pioneer and president of the Aero Club of America.[1] In 1910, he commissioned Baltimore sculptor Ernest Wise Keyser to make the 525-pound (238 kg) Aero Club of America Trophy.[1][2] First awarded in 1911 to Glenn H. Curtiss for his successful development of the hydro-aeroplane.[2] Collier owned a Wright Model B biplane which he purchased in 1911. Collier presented his namesake trophy several times before his death in 1918; after his World War I service.[1]

In 1922, when the Aero Club dissolved, the award was taken over by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) and it was unofficially renamed the Robert J. Collier Trophy, which became official in 1944.[3][1] The award is presented once a year by the NAA president, with the trophy on permanent display at the U.S. National Air and Space Museum.[1] As such, the trophy was in the custody of its 1969 co-recipient Michael Collins during his directorship of the museum.

The trophy was stolen briefly in 1978, but was recovered.[4] The thieves left it at Fort Foote park and it was recovered 26 hours from the time it went missing.[5]

Recipients

1930 Collier Trophy for Pitcairn's autogyro

Gallery

See also

References

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  3. ^ "Playboys, Ponies, Flying Machines had Wickatunk Agog 50 Years Ago". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. December 5, 1960. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Collier Trophy Stolen from Mayflower".
  5. ^ "Stolen Collier Trophy Found in Park". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. Associated Press. June 1, 1978. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "The Curtiss Company." US Centennial of Flight Commemoration, 2003. Retrieved: January 28, 2011.
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  8. ^ "Collier Trophy to Curtiss". New-York Tribune. New York, New York. January 30, 1913. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Orville Wright Receives the Collier Trophy for Stabilizer". The Dayton Herald. Dayton, Ohio. February 6, 1914. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Aviation Honors Awarded at Banquet". Buffalo Evening News. Buffalo, New York. January 15, 1915. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Safer Flight Trophy Awarded to Burgess". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. January 13, 1916. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Sperry's Get Trophy". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. March 31, 1917. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
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  37. ^ "U.S. Army Air Corps Wins Collier Trophy". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. Associated Press. September 16, 1938. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "Howard Hughes is Winner of Collier Trophy Award". The Marion County News. Hamilton, Alabama. November 23, 1939. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ McDonough, Stephen J. (February 3, 1941). "3 Scientists who Penetrated to Stratosphere Secrets Secrets Awarded". The Wilkes-Barre Record. Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
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  44. ^ "Radar Expert will Receive Collier Trophy". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. Associated Press. December 13, 1946. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ^ "Collier Trophy to Rodert for De-Icer Plan". Amarillo Daily News. Amarillo, Texas. Associated Press. December 12, 1947. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
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  47. ^ "Aeronautics Group to get Collier Trophy". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. December 24, 1949. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  48. ^ "36-Pound Automatic Jet Pilot Wins Collier Trophy for Lear". The Jackson Sun. Jackson, Tennessee. December 12, 1950. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  49. ^ "Collier Trophy Goes to Helicopter Industry". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. December 14, 1951. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
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  52. ^ "Collier Trophy Presented to Developers of B-52". The Journal Herald. Dayton, Ohio. December 5, 1956. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ^ "F-104 Reaches New Altitude Mark". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee. UPI. December 16, 1959. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
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  76. ^ "Propulsion System in Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter Wins Collier Trophy" (Press release). Fort Worth, TX: Lockheed Martin. February 28, 2003. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
  77. ^ "GAPAN to bestow top flight operations award on Nick Lappos" HeliHub, 2 October 2013. Accessed: 13 October 2013.
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  79. ^ "NAA ANNOUNCES COMMERCIAL AVIATION SAFETY TEAM (CAST) AS THE WINNER OF THE 2008 ROBERT J. COLLIER TROPHY" (PDF). National Aeronautic Association. NAA. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
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  86. ^ Bosco, Cassandro (March 12, 2013). "NASA/JPL Mars Curiosity Project Team Receive 2012 Robert J. Collier Trophy" (PDF). National Aeronautic Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
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  88. ^ Kauh, Elaine (March 10, 2016). "NASA-JPL Dawn Mission Team Wins 2015 Collier Trophy". AVweb. Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  89. ^ Berry, Stephanie (March 29, 2017). "Blue Origin New Shepard to Receive the 2016 Robert J. Collier Trophy" (PDF). NAA. Retrieved March 29, 2017.
  90. ^ "Cirrus Aircraft Vision Jet to be awarded the 2017 Robert J. Collier Trophy" (PDF) (Press release). NAA. April 4, 2018.
  91. ^ "Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System Team to Receive the 2018 Robert J. Collier Trophy" (PDF) (Press release). NAA. April 5, 2019.
  92. ^ "The United States Department of the Air Force - Boeing X-37B Team to Receive the 2019 Robert J. Collier Trophy" (PDF). Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  93. ^ "Garmin Autoland to Receive the 2020 Robert J. Collier Trophy" (PDF). NAA. June 3, 2021.
  94. ^ "James Webb Space Telescope Team Earns the 2022 Robert J. Collier Trophy". NAA.

External links