Learning Center Our Enshrinees

Russell W. Meyer Jr.

---

Pilot, Promotor, & Advocate

Born: NEED BIRTHDATE 1932 in Davenport, Iowa.
Enshrined: 2009

Flew as a jet pilot in the U.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1958 and with the U.S. Marine Air Corps Reserves from 1958 to 1961.

Accomplished commercial, instrument-rated pilot with more than 17,000 hours of flight time and type rated in all models of the Cessna Citation business jet.

Served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Grumman American Aviation Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio from 1966 to 1974.

Led Cessna from 1975 to 2003 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and was named Chairman Emeritus in 2005.

Served as Chairman of the Board of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) in 1974, 1982, and 1994.

Led in the passage of the 1994 General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) that limited aircraft liability that had crippled the general aviation industry.

Received the George S. Dively Award for Corporate Public Initiative in 1991 from Harvard University which was presented to him for creating Cessna’s 21st Street Training Program, a comprehensive academic, personal and on-site vocational skills training program for Wichita’s inner-city residents, with jobs guaranteed to those who complete the program.

Awarded the Collier Award twice, the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy and the Meritorious Service Award from NBAA.

Originator of the Citation Special Olympics Airlift, where hundreds of Citation owners transported athletes to the National Special Olympics games.

Played a key role in the development of the “Be A Pilot” program that resulted in tens of thousands of new pilots and contributed more than $200 million to the economy.

Served on three Presidential commissions and was appointed by Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta to the FAA’s Management Advisory Council in 2004.