The Museum of Flight Announces 2010 Pathfinder Award Recipients

Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann

Chief pilot, director of Boeing Flight Training, and responsible for the company's operation in 20 campuses globally, Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann is a pilot of "firsts." Boeing's first woman test pilot. The first to captain a 747-400. The first to captain a 777. Joining Boeing in 1974 as a tech aide, Darcy-Hennemann learned to fly through the Boeing Employees Flying Association and graduated with a BS degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from the University of Washington in 1981.She has achieved captain status on the Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 jetliners. However, it is the Boeing 777 with which she is most closely associated, having contributed to design, testing and certification of the initial airplane and later models. And perhaps most famously, Darcy-Hennemann commanded the 777-200LR on its 21,602-km flight from Hong Kong to London in 2005, breaking the world distance record and two speed records. Among her numerous honors, she has received the prestigious Laurels Award for Leadership from Aviation Week, was identified as one of the top 100 graduates of the University of Washington, and in 2010, was inducted into the Pioneer Hall of Fame for Women in Aviation International.

Bill Boeing Jr.

Fueled by an unparalleled dedication to future generations, William E. Boeing, Jr. has spent a lifetime committed to furthering education and preserving aerospace history. An insightful and driving force of The Museum of Flight from its earliest days, Boeing's wide-ranging career has put him in leadership positions from directorships at the Safeco Corporation, Pacific National Bank and Western Bancorp, to the chairman of Aldarra Management Company, to a trustee of Seattle University. True to his family name, however, aviation has always held a special place in his life. He was instrumental in introducing the helicopter to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, and as a trustee of The Museum of Flight, he has led the way in turning the museum from a small, local attraction to one of international importance. His guidance and support has allowed the museum to pursue its goal of becoming "the foremost educational air and space museum in the world." His largely behind-the-scenes, with-little-fanfare influence helped bring about the capital campaign behind the T. A. Wilson Great Gallery, the Challenger Learning Center, the Tower exhibit, the J. Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing, the Washington Aerospace Scholars, and countless other contributions that helped to further the museum's vision. Perhaps most important among his achievements, however, was his leadership in saving, moving, and restoring the historic Red Barn -- without which the dream of The Museum of Flight may have never been realized.