Press Release
Issued by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation.
October 11, 2011
Two Gulfstream operators that assisted wounded and disabled U.S. armed forces veterans and patients with life-threatening medical problems were honored Monday with the 2011 Gulfstream Outstanding Flight Award. The awardees are Universal Weather and Aviation Inc. of Houston and the Saudi Armed Forces Medical Service, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They received the Alber-Rowley Trophy during an awards dinner at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Annual Meeting and Convention in Las Vegas.
The award program spotlights flights involving superior airmanship and operational achievements performed in customer Gulfstream aircraft. It highlights significant real-world business and special-mission aviation operations by Gulfstream operators each year. The award is named for Carl Alber and Fred Rowley who, in 1958, made the first flight of a Gulfstream aircraft.
Universal Weather and Aviation Inc., an international aircraft services company, won the commercial award for a three-day series of flights by a single Gulfstream G150 to transport severely wounded and disabled veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two veterans were flown to "Impact a Hero," a weekend event that is focused on honoring soldiers' bravery, heroism and personal sacrifice. Commercial air travel is often impossible or challenging for veterans with large amounts of shrapnel still in their bodies, severe burns, metal prosthetics and post-traumatic stress disorder. The G150 provides ample shoulder, leg and head room as well as 100 percent fresh air and a quieter cabin, making it the ideal aircraft for transporting the veterans.
The Saudi Armed Forces Medical Service won the military award for a grueling four-day, 40-hour precision mission in which patients with life-threatening medical problems were delivered to out-of-country specialist hospitals. Using a dedicated and specially designed GV Medevac aircraft, the Saudis provided exceptional, rapid-reaction transportation support for several seriously ill patients in need of intensive specialist support.
"Each group that was nominated was outstanding in its own way and demonstrated the tremendous capabilities of Gulfstream aircraft and the crews that fly them," said Larry Flynn, president, Gulfstream. "The rigorous missions conducted by Universal and the Saudi Armed Forces Medical Service warranted special recognition. Those crews had to surmount a number of operational challenges in order to successfully complete their work. They clearly showed that Gulfstream aircraft are vital business and military tools as well as essential to humanitarian and philanthropic efforts."
Awardees and finalists received take-home trophies and certificates during an NBAA dinner held at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas. The names of the two annual winners are engraved on the Gulfstream-commissioned Alber-Rowley trophy, an original artist-designed bronze sculpture on permanent display at Gulfstream headquarters in Savannah.
