GA Award winners to be honored at AirVenture

Ronald Jay Timmermans of Orlando, Florida, was named the 2021 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year. An architect and project manager before dedicating himself entirely to aviation, he has been an independent flight instructor since 1998. Timmermans flies a Beechcraft Bonanza that he co-owns with his wife, Barbara, whom he credits with inspiring him to become a fight instructor. Now with more than 4,000 hours of dual instruction given, he instructs throughout Florida from Miami and Naples to Tampa, serving as a mentor and advocate for young pilots and instructors. He holds numerous airman certificates, is a National Association of Flight Instructors master CFI, master ground instructor, Gold Seal instructor, and an American Bonanza Society master aviator. He is well known in the Beechcraft community for his involvement in the Beechcraft Pilot Proficiency Program and the Bonanza/Baron Pilot Training program.

Michael Colin Dunkley of Coshocton, Ohio, is the 2021 Aviation Technician of the Year. Growing up in what is now Zimbabwe where he learned machining and sheet-metal skills, he was accepted at 16 into a five-year apprenticeship with Air Rhodesia (now Air Zimbabwe). Two years after completing the program he joined the airline as a line and heavy maintenance technician, and later as a supervisor and inspector. In 1985, he joined the charitable organization Mission Aviation Fellowship as liaison for turbine field operations when the group was beginning to fly turboprops. He later became director of maintenance for a program operating several Cessna single-engine models in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 1995 he joined faith-based Moody Aviation, serving for 10 years as a supervisor and instructor, after which he went to MMS Aviation in Coshocton, where he continues to serve as a supervisor and instructor. He spends his workdays passing his knowledge and experience on to young apprentices training as missionary aircraft mechanics.

Adam Timothy Magee of Swisher, Iowa, was named the 2021 National FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year. A certified public accountant who works as a financial reporting officer for a large bank, when not engaged in high finance he transforms to a “safety superhero” for lighter-than-air (LTA) aviation, credited by the FAA with shifting “the safety culture of the ballooning community.” His mother, Elizabeth Magee, is also an LTA instructor. Working with his local FAASTeam, in 2015 Magee co-founded the Balloon Training Academy, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to training LTA students and providing continuing education to LTA pilots.” The academy’s popular Facebook page posts safety tips for LTA pilots. His work earned him district and regional CFI-of-the-year awards in 2019. He has also received the Balloon Federation of America Directors Award, and the Bill Murtoroff Spirit of Ballooning Award for youth aviation education. Magee was appointed a designated pilot examiner for private and commercial LTA applicants. He also is a FAASTeam representative who holds WingsPro and DronePro designations.

In addition to receiving their awards at AirVenture, the winners’ names will be added to the perpetual plaque in the EAA Aviation Museum's lobby.

“I am very excited to announce the selection of the National Honorees for the 2021 General Aviation Awards,” said GA Awards Board Chairman Sandya Narayanswami, “These awards highlight the important role played by these individuals in promoting aviation education and flight safety.”