About Us

How it all started …..

In 2008 Paul Tyrrell, then Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA) and Captain Chris Manning, a former Chief Pilot of Qantas Airways Ltd, held a discussion centred around their collective concern that an Australian Aviation Hall of Fame did not exist to recognise our rich national aviation heritage, and those extraordinary individuals that pioneered aviation and aerospace in this nation.

 

From that discussion, a plan evolved to establish an organisation committed to the celebration of those aviation pioneers and the roles that they played in our nation's aviation and aerospace development. Throughout 2009 our two founders developed the policies to underpin what today is known as AAHOF.  Geoff Bruest was our inaugural Chair, and he assisted in forming the first Board.

The Australian Aviation Hall of Fame was officially launched in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales on Tuesday 24 August 2010. The launch event was a special Reception hosted by the Mayor of Wagga Wagga, Councillor Kerry Pascoe and sponsored by Qantaslink. The first induction event was held at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga in 2012. 

Today, the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame Limited is a not for profit, public company limited by guarantee located on the mezzanine floor at HARS (the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) at Albion Park Rail NSW. Since its initial launch, AAHOF has been committed to our cause: to honour the past and inspire the future.

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