Three brothers raised in Turnerville have received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. An award ceremony honoring Gaylon, Mark and Verdeen Heiner is scheduled for Saturday, May 16 at 11 a.m. at the Heiner Airfield in Turnerville. The public is welcome.

The award ceremony is emceed by Bank of Star Valley’s former president, Rod Jenson and awards will be presented by Richard Jeffs of the Federal Aviation Administration. A potluck lunch will follow the ceremony.

“It is a unique happening for three brothers to receive the Wright Brothers award from the FAA,” said Julie Smith, who is a fellow pilot and friend to the brothers. “They have each fulfilled the requirement for fifty years of flying experience and the sum of their flight hours is in the thousands.  That’s a whole lot of flying! They have had remarkable aviation experiences involving work for Aviat including test flying, airplane delivery, and certification, as well as commercial aviation, flight instruction, and private flying.”

According to faasafety.gov, eligibility for the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award is determined by the following criteria:

• Nominees must hold a U.S. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) pilot certificate.

• Nominees must have 50 or more years of civil and military piloting experience or 50 or more years combined experience in both piloting and aircraft operations, which can include up to 20 years of the required 50 years as U.S. military experience. The effective start date for the 50 years is the date of the nominee’s first solo flight or military equivalent, and the 50 years may be computed consecutively or non-consecutively.

• Nominees must have U.S. citizenship.

• Nominees may not have had any airman certificate revoked.

Mark is well known to the Star Valley aviation community as a pilot who trained many, many beginner pilots and managed the FBO at the Afton Airport. He has used his pilot skills for search and rescue efforts, dropped water balloons, simulated bomb drops, and spent years in a multifaceted career with what is now Aviat where he served as a test pilot.

In his early career, Verdeen earned both pilot and mechanic licenses and worked in design and certification with Cristen Industries and Aviat.  As an aerobatic pilot, he studied spin training before transitioning into commercial aviation with Skywest, where he eventually managed the ground training program and ferried jets north from South America.

Gaylon learned to fly as a young man with the Civil Air Patrol and delivered aircraft while performing many support roles for Christen and then Aviat. He has flown to 46 of the lower 48 states in his work with Aviat. As the owner of the Heiner Airfield, his runway has hosted fly-ins and many drop-in pilots, including Harrison Ford. He is currently flying his 49th airplane.

The public is welcome to attend the ceremony in celebration of this uncommon achievement. Guests are asked to bring a side dish or dessert for the luncheon and a lawn chair. Look for signs indicating parking space.