Induction ceremony and luncheon set for Friday, April 21, 2023
The Lone Star Flight Museum (LSFM) is pleased to announce the selection of four new inductees into the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame. The TAHOF selection committee has named Daniel Baker, Major General Joe H. Engle (ret.), Rod Lewis and Edna Gardner Whyte (posthumously), to the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
This esteemed group will be officially inducted on Friday, April 21 at the 2023 Texas Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and luncheon at the Lone Star Flight Museum located at Houston’s Ellington Airport.
The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame was established in 1995 through a resolution by the 74th Texas Legislature and signed by then Gov. George W. Bush to honor and recognize Texans and Texas companies or organizations that have made significant and lasting contributions to the advancement of aviation. There are currently 84 individuals and groups in the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, in four categories which include trailblazers and explorers, wartime aviators, leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators. The 2023 Texas Aviation Hall of Fame inductees join an impressive list of past inductees representing trailblazers and explorers such as Bessie Coleman and Wiley Post; leaders such as Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush; World War II aviators Tex Hill, the Doolittle Raiders, Tuskegee Airmen and Women Airforce Service Pilots; astronauts Eileen Collins, John Young and Gene Cernan; and entrepreneurs Howard Hughes and Gordon Bethune.
2023 INDUCTEES INCLUDE:
Flightaware executives, January 2017. © 2017 Robert Seale
Daniel Baker
Born in Houston, Texas, Daniel Baker, founded FlightAware in 2005 as a side project for the then 22-year-old. As a young pilot, Baker combined his passion for flying, and his career in software development and e-commerce, along with the evolution of the Internet, to create software that pilots and loved ones could use to easily track their flights. FlightAware quickly moved from a labor of love and became a successful startup as a free flight tracking service for private, commercial and military air traffic.
Over the coming years, FlightAware became a global leader in aviation data services. Baker served as FlightAware CEO from its inception until 2021 when the industry-changing company was sold to Collins Aerospace. Today, FlightAware is the world’s largest flight tracking data company and provides critical flight data solutions to airlines and private aircraft operators around the globe, as well as flight tracking to millions of travelers. FlightAware currently has offices in Houston, New York, London and Singapore.
With more than 25 years of experience in aviation and technology, Daniel Baker now serves as a strategic advisor to FlightAware, helping to define the future of digital aviation. He is a published author on the subject of Internet protocols, a regular speaker at aviation and technology conferences, serves as a member of the Board of Directors at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, is a member of the Aspen Airport Flight Operations Safety Task Force and is the Outgoing Chair of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s Safety and Accident Investigation committee. Baker holds FAA Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor certificates.
Major General Joe H. Engle (Retired) USAF, ANG
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Kansas, Major General Joe Engle was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program at the university to enter the U.S. Air Force flying school in March 1956.
He served with the 474th Fighter Day Squadron flying F-100’s at George AFB, CA, and in 1960 was selected for the USAF Test Pilot School and the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards AFB. In 1963 Engle was assigned as one of two Air Force test pilots to fly the X-15 Research Rocket aircraft, and on June 29, 1965, he flew the X-15 to an altitude of 280,600 feet and became the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut.
In March 1966, Engle was one of 19 pilots selected for NASA space missions. He was the back-up Lunar Module Pilot for the Apollo 14 mission and was set to fly to and walk on the moon on Apollo 17 but the mission was later canceled. He was later named the commander of one of two crews that flew the initial Space Shuttle “Enterprise” Approach and Landing Test flights and commanded the second orbital test flight of the Space Shuttle “Columbia” where he became the first and only pilot to manually fly an aerospace vehicle from Mach 25 to landing. And, in August 1985 he served as Commander of Space Shuttle “Discovery” on flight 51-I.
Having flown 185 different types of aircraft including 38 different fighter and attack aircraft, Engle logged more than 14,700 flight hours – 9,900 in jets and over 224 hours in space. His military decorations include the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, and the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster. He has also been awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and NASA Space Flight Medal with device along with many more awards and accolades.
Rod Lewis
Born in Laredo, Texas and the son of a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Rod inherited his father’s passion for thrills at an early age which influenced his future as a pilot and oilman. As a young adult he spent time riding motorcycles and modifying car engines to make the cars go faster. Soon he was in the air taking flight instruction and began blazing a trail in the oil industry.
In 1978, Rod went to work in the oil fields, starting as a gauger. He bought his first well in 1982, and the international oil and gas empire that is now Lewis Energy Group was born. Today Lewis Energy has over 1,300 employees with operations in Texas, Mexico, and Colombia. But his love of flying also grew over the years. In 1981, he purchased his first plane, an old hand-cranked Aeronca Chief and over time came to own over 80 aircraft.
Thirty of the aircraft are classic WWII warbirds that fly as the Lewis Air Legends and the Air Legends Foundation. Both organizations were founded to preserve and maintain the historic machines while honoring the brave men who flew them. As an accomplished fixed and rotary wing pilot, Rod is qualified in both jet and propeller-driven aircraft with over 12,000 flight hours. He personally flies every plane, but the vintage fighters and bombers are his favorites, namely Glacier Girl, a P-38 Lightning rescued after 50 years beneath 268 feet of Greenland ice. It is the only survivor of the Lost Squadron and restored to near-factory condition.
A generous philanthropist, Lewis supports causes such as cancer research, scholarships for student pilots and those studying aviation technology or mechanics. His passion for flight, patriotism and love of American history has enabled future generations to experience the living, flying tribute to those who dreamed, built, supported and flew the brilliant birds of war. Rod Lewis is a member of the Living Legends of Aviation for his commitment to preserving vintage aircraft and serves as a Board Emeritus for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
Edna Gardner Whyte
Edna Marvel Gardner was born in Mankato, Minnesota in 1902. Raised by her aunt and uncle, Edna was inspired by exhibition and air racing pilot sisters Katherine and Marjorie Stinson to pursue her interest in flying. Edna became a registered nurse in 1924 and immediately used her modest earnings to pay for the very expensive flight school lessons.
She soloed her first flight in 1926 and attained her pilot’s certificate in 1928. In 1929 she joined the USN Nurse Corps and travelled to Washington D.C. where she became a flight instructor and trained many pilots at nearby airports. Throughout the 1930’s Enda continued to fly and instruct and time after time, even as an accomplished female pilot, she faced many challenges in the male-dominated industry and was continually denied pilot positions in both the private and military sector. However, she was frequently called upon to train male student pilots. It was during this time that Enda began her air successful racing career and owned and operated several flight schools and airports. In 1946, she and her husband George M. Whyte arrived in Ft. Worth, Texas and operated Aero Enterprises Flight School until his death in 1970. Later that same year she founded the Aero Valley Airport in Roanoke, Texas and lived and worked on the property until her death in 1992.
Edna began her air racing career in 1930 and flew in over 100 races. At a time when women were not permitted to race with men, they created their own races. Her most notable wins included the Women’s International Air Race in 1953, 1958, 1960 and 1961. She received more than 80 aviation awards including the Charles Lindbergh Lifetime Achievement award and the 1967 Woman of the Year award from the Women’s National Aeronautical Association. She was a charter member of the Whirly-Girls and President of the women’s Ninety-Nines organization from 1955-1957. She was also the first woman elected as an honorary member, of the Order of Daedalians, the national fraternity of military aviators.
To become a 2023 Texas Aviation Hall of Fame event sponsor, visit LoneStarFlight.org/TAHOF2023 or call 346-352-7678. Tickets for the induction ceremony and luncheon will be available for purchase March 27, 2023.