2019 Hall of Fame Inductee John Richard Turgyan JOHN RICHARD TURGYAN, VAA Lifetime 3, of New Egypt, New Jersey, has been named the Vintage Aircraft Association’s Hall of Fame honoree for 2019. The VAA began its prestigious annual hall of fame honors program in 1993. Over the past 26 years, 33 outstanding men and women have been inducted into this select group of aviation achievers. This year, these highly accomplished aviation personalities are joined by John, whose achievements have earned him not only a place in the VAA Hall of Fame but also well-deserved recognition for his lifetime support of the vintage aircraft movement. John began his fascination with airplanes before reaching the age of 5 when he managed to nail together several sticks to resemble an airplane in his father’s hobby shop. John’s parents realized where John’s interests lay and started purchasing model airplane kits for him to assemble. For John, life was all about airplanes whether it was building models or reading aviation magazines or comics. John’s models became more sophisticated over time, and by the age of 11 he built his first model with movable control surfaces — a Hellcat. With all of the glue and paint that John was using for his model projects he was pressed into getting a job delivering papers to pay for his passion for airplanes. When John was growing up it was a common practice for the entire family to pile into the car and go for a relaxing Sunday afternoon drive. It was on one of these Sunday afternoon excursions,
6 July/August 2019
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF EAA ARCHIVES
