The Federal Aviation Administration has recognized three Congressional Squadron pilots with the prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.
The award honors aviators who reach the elusive milestone of 50 consecutive years of safe flight operations by exhibiting exemplary aviation expertise and professionalism. Given the fact that powered flight began only 121 years ago, achieving 50 years of safe flight takes dedication, proficiency, good decision-making, and a commitment to safety.
Nominations for the award each included three letters of recommendation from fellow aviators attesting to the nominee’s flying record.
Since the inception of the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award in 2003, fewer than 8,000 pilots have received it – less than 1% of U.S. aviators.
Lt. Cols. James “JC” Hyde and Michail “Bishop” Sheen and Maj. Bob “Admiral” Gawler were honored for their five-decade-long contributions and dedication to aviation.
“Being successful at anything for 50 years is an amazing accomplishment,” said Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, Civil Air Patrol national commander and CEO. “Aviation is extremely Unforgiving, which makes five decades of safe flight something rare and worthy of recognition.
“I am tremendously proud of these members – they are very deserving of this award.” Hyde has logged more than 5,700 hours in fighters and special mission aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and CAP. Retiring from the Air Force after 22 years, he then served as a federal officer within the intelligence community for 20 years.
Hyde is a qualified CAP mission pilot and check pilot, and incident commander, having joined the organization in February 1997. He serves as the Congressional Squadron’s operations officer.
Sheen is a certificated flight instructor with 1,000 hours of instruction provided and 6,000 total flight hours. He retired from the U.S. Air Force as a colonel with special duty as an attaché in the Nordic region. Following his military career, Sheen served as an instructor at the Joint Military Attaché School.
A CAP member since September 2001, he serves as the Congressional Squadron’s officer for standards and evaluation and for education and training.
Gawler is a certificated flight instructor with 5,615 hours of instruction provided and 11,200 total flight hours and was an FAA-designated pilot examiner for 26 years. He joined CAP in April 1978 and serves as the Congressional Squadron’s assistant standards and evaluation officer.
CAP’s Congressional Squadron, established more than 55 years ago, is a nonpartisan, volunteer unit consisting of interested members of Congress and congressional staff as honorary members and a team of professional aviators and other staff.
