Wings Club


The Wings Club, also known as the Wings Club of New York, is a social and professional club formed for aviators, based in New York City. Founded in 1942 by a group of American aviation pioneers, it is known for its monthly lunches, annual dinners and special occasions at which talks are given on various aspects of aviation. The club gives out scholarships to aviation students, and selects individuals and organizations for recognition with the "Distinguished Achievement Award".

History

The Wings Club was founded in New York City on May 15, 1942. It was housed within the Yale Club and served World War II pilots as a place of leisure and occasional living quarters. The first board of directors included Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan American World Airways, and World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. The first president was Caleb Bragg, a racer of automobiles and speedboats, aviation pioneer, and automotive inventor. Bragg had previously been a governor of the Aero Club of America. He was made president of the Wings Club despite suffering from a longterm illness which led to his death later the next year.
The club grew quickly to 500 members in its first year, then to 1,000 by the end of its second year. In the 1970s there were 1,500 members, including women for the first time. By 2011, membership had decreased to about 1,200. Members met at the Yale Club in the first few years, then in April 1946 the Wings Club relocated to the Biltmore Hotel where it stayed for 37 years. The Biltmore was torn down in 1981, so the club moved to nearby 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, a 20-story building opposite Grand Central Terminal. The Wings Club maintained a library, kitchen and dining hall on the 18th floor until 2002 when they stopped keeping their own quarters and instead met only at the Yale Club. In 2011, the club again moved into a permanent home, consisting of offices and a boardroom inside the MetLife Building, formerly the headquarters of Pan Am.

Activities

Many notable aviators have delivered speeches at lunches and dinners hosted by the Wings Club. The first lunch talk was delivered by Gill Robb Wilson, the president of the National Aeronautic Association and an invited guest of the Wings Club. This event was so well received that it was used as the template for monthly lunch speeches. The first annual dinner speech was presented by founding club member Eddie Rickenbacker on March 22, 1944.
Following the record-breaking 1945 Japan–Washington flight made by three U.S. Army Air Force generals in Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, the generals and their crews were invited to a Wings Club dinner held in their honor at the Yale Club. B-29 generals Curtis LeMay and Emmett O'Donnell Jr were able to attend, as were other USAAF generals such as Carl Andrew Spaatz and Jimmy Doolittle.
In early 1964, Joseph A. Walker, the chief test pilot for NASA, spoke about NASA's space program, especially about the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle for which he served as project manager. Walker expressed great confidence in the likelihood of a successful moon landing but he died two years later in an air collision and never saw the program to completion.
Also in 1964, founding club member, former club president and retired USAF General Harold Ross Harris implemented the annual [|"Sight Lecture" series] at which a leading aviation notable was to be invited to deliver a lecture adhering generally to "insights, foresights and hindsights" of aviation. Each lecture was to be published in book form by the Wings Club.
Beginning in 1975, the Wings Club selects one or more organizations or individuals each year to be honored with the "Distinguished Achievement Award", conferred at the annual dinner in October. The first awardee was aviation pioneer and USAF General Jimmy Doolittle.
Beginning in 2010, the Wings Club began to recognize organizations or individuals each year to be honored with the "Outstanding Aviator Award", presented at the annual meeting in March. The first recipients were the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American pilots to serve in the US Army Air Corps. during World War II.
Since 2000, the club has awarded scholarships to aviation and aerospace students, beginning with Maurice Stanley who was studying aviation management at Dowling College, Long Island, New York.

Guest speakers

Some notable Sight Lectures include:
A complete list of speakers, topics and dates collected from the published volumes of Sight Lecture Series is summarized in the table below. Note: there is some ambiguity regarding lectures and numbering from 1997-2009.
#YearDatePresenterTopic
1196416-Nov-1964Igor I. SikorskyRecollections and Thoughts of a Pioneer
2196526-May-1965Dr. Jerome C. HunsakerSome Lessons of History
3196618-May-1966William LittlewoodPerspectives In Air Transport
4196719-Apr-1967Sir William HildredyAdministrative Aspects of International Air Transport
5196815-May-1968Dr. Wernher von BraunSpace Flight Past, Present, and Future
6196921-May-1969Grover LoeningThe Air Road Will Widen! With Systems Approach and Design Courage
7197020-May-1970Air Commodore F. R. BanksAircraft Prime Movers of the Twentieth Century
8197119-May-1971C.R. SmithSafety in Air Transportation Over The Years
9197217-May-1972Sir Peter MasefieldGateways to the World over the Years
10197316-May-1973William P. GwinnTechnology-Key to the Universe
11197415-May-1974Edward C. WellsAerospace Engineering: 1916-1974
12197516-Apr-1975Wayne W. ParrishA Traveler-Journalist Views the Air World
1319762-Dec-1976H.R.H, The Prince of the Netherlands The Netherlands People, Their Country and Their Civil aviation, To-day and in the Future
14197720-May-1977Juan T. TrippeCharles A. Lindbergh and World Travel
15197812-Apr-1978Richard M. JacksonThe Second Generation Speaks Out
16197916-May-1979Dr. Knut HagrupCooperation in World Civil Aviation
17198014-May-1980Robert B. HotzThe Promise Of The Space Age
18198122-Apr-1981Senator Barry GoldwaterThe State of Our Industry and Raw Materials in Relation to Defense
19198221-Apr-1982Jerome LedererAviation Safety Perspectives: Hindsight, Insight, Foresight
20198315-Jun-1983Willis M. HawkinsMaintaining Aerospace Leadership
21198416-May-1984General Harold R. HarrisThe First Eighty Years
22198516-May-1985Gerhard NeumannAircraft Engines... Never A Dull Moment
23198621-May-1986Joseph F. SutterChanging Scene in the U.S. Air Transportation System
24198720-May-1987Ralph H. RobinsTo The Standards of Sir Henry Royce
25198818-May-1988Neil A. ArmstrongWingless on Luna
26198924-May-1989Sergei I. SikorskyReflections on a Pioneer
27199016-May-1990Sanford N. McDonnellMuch May Be Made of a Scotsman: The Story of McDonnell Douglas
281991Max E. Bleck
29199220-May-1992R. Dixon SpeasPerceptions of the Past as a Prologue for the Future
301993Thomas P. Poberezny
311994Russell W. Meyer, Jr.
32199517-May-1995David Russell HinsonAir Carrier Safety - A New Paradigm for the 21st Century
33199615-May-1996Charles H. KamanKaman Helicopters and the Evolution of Vertical Flight
1997Al UeltschiThe History & Future of Flight Safety International
1998Admiral Donald D. Engen
1999Brian Rowe
2000Ronald E. G. Davies
34200715-May-2007Joseph F. SutterThe Boeing 747: Definition of a Champion
35200821-May-2008Fernando AlonsoThe A380 Adventure from the Inside
40200914-Jun-2009Michael D. GriffinThe Importance of Human Spaceflight
41201019-May-2010Tom RidgeRisk Management: Security, Resiliency and the Aviation Sector
42201125-May-2011General Duncan J. McNabbMeeting A Global Challenge
43201224-May-2012Frederick SmithAir Cargo: Back to the Future
44201314-Sep-2013Marillyn A. HensonHow to Inspire Innovation
45201526-Mar-2015Robert L. CrandallReality and Aspirations: Building a Better Aviation System for the Future
46201622-Sep-2016John LeahyThe Global Revolution in Commercial Aviation: From the Jumbo Jet to the A350 and Beyond
47201716-Nov-2017Jim AlbaughReflections on Aerospace; Past, Present and Future
48201920-Feb-2019Jeff BezosBarnstorming the Next Frontier