Dr. S. Harry Robertson, Founder of Robertson Fuel Systems, A HEICO Company, was recognized for his entrepreneurial accomplishments with the Ken Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award on January 16, 2020 at the 17th Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards, hosted by John Travolta. Mr. Ken Ricci personally presented the award.

Hailed as the “most remarkable people of extraordinary accomplishment in aviation and aerospace”, The Living Legends of Aviation honors the most accomplished men and women in aviation and supports the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy, which is dedicated to introducing, educating, and sparking children’s interest in aviation.

Major General Carl H. McNair Jr. nominated Dr. Robertson for induction into the Living Legends of Aviation, honoring Robertson’s invention of “Robbie Tanks” which has saved thousands of lives. “Harry Robertson’s impactful work on creating crash-survivable, ballistically self-sealing fuel systems for the rotorcraft industry and military forces has saved over 9,000 lives and continues strong for over 40 years.” said Newman Shufflebarger, President of Robertson Fuel Systems. “Everyone at Robertson is proud to continue Harry’s legacy of saving lives and this award is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and dedication of his legacy.” Harry is one of the most significant figures in Aviation in the past 50 years and is recognized as “The Father of the Crashworthy Fuel System.”

Past recipients of the Ken Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award include Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airlines and Virgin Galactic and Frederick Smith, founder of FedEx. More than 700 people, including many of the “Living Legends of Aviation” themselves like Jeff Bezos, John Travolta and Harrison Ford, attend the annual awards ceremony, which will benefit the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy.