The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) honored Richard Packer Sr. for more than a half-century of service to aviation by presenting him with two prestigious awards. Known by many simply as “Packer,” the owner of Packer & Associates Inc. received the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award at a surprise ceremony at Packer Airport in Radnor, Ohio, on Oct. 17.

The FAA does not hand out these awards often, so those who receive it stand out in the aviation world for their sustained excellence. The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award is the most prestigious award the FAA issues to pilots certified under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 61. It is named after the Wright Brothers, the first U.S. pilots, to recognize individuals who have exhibited professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise for at least 50 years while piloting aircraft as “master pilots.”

The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award recognizes the lifetime accomplishments of senior mechanics and is named in honor of the first aviation mechanic in powered flight. Charles Taylor served as the Wright brothers’ mechanic and is credited with designing and building the engine for their first successful aircraft. Master Mechanic Award candidates must have 50 or more years of civil and military maintenance experience.

Packer has accumulated over 10,000 hours logged in single and multiengine aircraft, agricultural, turbine and aerobatic aircraft. He received his airframe and powerplant mechanics certificate with inspection authorization in 1975 and is still an active flight instructor and aircraft inspector. He received his property and casualty insurance license in 1981 and formed Packer & Associates as an independent insurance agency that year.

Packer is a longtime NAAA Allied Industry member who for years has and continues to serve as the Ohio state representative on NAAA’s board. NAAA congratulates Packer on his well-deserved awards from the FAA and is appreciative of his many years of service to the agricultural aviation industry.