The
National Aeronautic Association of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(
NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a member of the
Fédération Aéronautique InternationaleThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
(FAI), the international standard setting and record-keeping body for
aeronauticsAeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
and
astronauticsAstronautics, and related astronautical engineering, is the theory and practice of navigation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight....
. NAA is the official record-keeper for United States aviation. It is "dedicated to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation in the United States,", according to its Mission Statement.
http://www.naa.aero It is headquartered at the
Ronald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
.
The
Aero Club of AmericaThe Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Glidden and others to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New England. It thrived until 1923, when it transformed into the National Aeronautic...
was a founding member of the FAI on 12-14 October 1905. The NAA was the successor to this organization, officially accepted as an FAI Member at the Gothembourg General Conference (8-12 August 1923).
http://www.fai.org/fai_members/ It is the oldest national aviation organization in the United States.
In 1931
Amelia EarhartAmelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
was elected the first woman Vice President of the NAA.
Colonel
Walter J. BoyneWalter J. Boyne is a retired United States Air Force officer, combat veteran, aviation historian, and author of more than 50 books and over 1,000 magazine articles...
, USAF (Ret) is the Chairman of the National Aeronautic Association and Jonathan Gaffney was named President on July 13, 2007.
NAA encompasses all areas of flight, including:
- Aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
- Aeromodeling
Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...
, through the Academy of Model AeronauticsThe Academy of Model Aeronautics, based in Muncie, Indiana, USA, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of model aviation as a recognized sport as well as a recreational activity. It is the largest organization of its kind with a current membership of more than 170,000...
(AMA)
- Ballooning
Ballooning may refer to:* Hot air ballooning* Balloon * Ballooning * Ballooning degeneration...
& AirshipAn airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
s
- Commercial airlines
- Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
- Hang Gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
& ParaglidingParagliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...
- Microlights/ & Ultralight aviation
The term "ultralight aviation" refers to light-weight, 1- or 2-person airplanes., also called microlight aircraft in the UK, India and New Zealand...
- Military aircraft
A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...
- Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
- Rotorcraft
A rotorcraft or rotary wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine that uses lift generated by wings, called rotor blades, that revolve around a mast. Several rotor blades mounted to a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The International Civil Aviation Organization defines a rotorcraft...
- Spaceflight
Spaceflight is the act of travelling into or through outer space. Spaceflight can occur with spacecraft which may, or may not, have humans on board. Examples of human spaceflight include the Russian Soyuz program, the U.S. Space shuttle program, as well as the ongoing International Space Station...
Aviation awards are administered by NAA, include:
- Collier Trophy
The Collier Trophy is an annual aviation award administered by the U.S. National Aeronautics Association , presented to those who have made "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space...
- Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy
Winners of the National Aeronautic Association's Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy:*2009 - Steven Udvar-Hazy*2008 - Norman R. Augustine*2007 - Eugene Cernan*2006 - Norman Mineta*2005 - Edward C. Aldridge Jr.*2004 - Robert Crandall*2003 - John Glenn...