South Woodstock, CONNECTICUT / May 30, 2008 — The Aero Club of New England honored decades of worthy accomplishment by Tom Peghiny, a lifetime resident of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The award recognizes those individuals from New England who made substantial contributions to aviation. The Aero Club of New England is the oldest aeronautical club in the United States and the Americas, and is the second oldest such organization in the world. To participants in the Light-Sport Aircraft community, Tom Peghiny is already a recognized name. As president of Flight Design USA, the importer of the Flight Design CT line of aircraft has achieved and maintained market leading status since the first Special Light-Sport Aircraft were approved in April of 2005. Peghiny also chaired the ASTM Airplane Committee during its benchmark creation of industry consensus standards covering the majority of LSA being sold.

In addition to his groundbreaking work in the LSA industry, Peghiny demonstrated comparable leadership roles in other aircraft segments, first in hang gliding — where he was an innovative designer and the winner of more flight competitions than any other pilot at the time — and in ultralight aviation. The Flightstar ultralight series sold over 1,000 aircraft thanks largely to Peghiny’s effort.

Joe Gauthier, who won the same award in 2004 and whose work includes being a Designated Airworthiness Representative inspecting Light-Sport Aircraft, presented the honor to Peghiny.

Tom Peghiny has earned a reputation in the LSA community as a smart yet caring person who is always willing to help, even his competitors. Though his leading company has often blazed new trails in LSA development, Tom has frequently shared details of his success with other industry leaders, thereby assisting them in developing good aircraft, successful infrastructure, and proper documentation.
   

“Aviation has been my life since I was a teenager,” Tom explained, “and I am deeply concerned that we provide the best safety and value to customers who choose to become involved with flying a Light-Sport Aircraft.” He feels FAA’s experiment in new regulations has given this industry a rare opportunity — to largely self-regulate itself — and Tom wants to see this young industry make the most of that chance.
   
Flight Design USA is the U.S. importer of the CT series from Germany. The company has succeeded in delivering more than 245 aircraft to its network of distributors and dealers. One of the first Light-Sport Aircraft certified under ASTM standards, the carbon fiber CT is the best-selling LSA in America. More than 1,000 CT models are flying around the globe.

Source: Flight Design
Picture provided and copyrighted by Tracy Knauss - http://www.LightSportAircraft.com
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