Lt. Col. Kelvin Bailey was born on December 29, 1920 in Canada. His family soon moved to Dearborn, Michigan, where Bailey would graduate from Dearborn High School in 1941. During High School, Bailey made his first solo flight in 1939.
Immediately following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Kelvin Bailey joined the United States Marine Corps, hoping to be a Marine aviator. He completed boot camp and was assigned to the Marine Corp Recruit Depot Property Office. He applied for flight training and was accepted into the Navy’s Flight Training Program. Bailey received his Naval Aviator Wings and was commissioned a Marine Corps 2nd Lt. in October 1943. He was assigned to the south Pacific flying the SBD Dauntless. During World War II, Bailey flew 116 combat missions. He was awarded three Asiatic/Pacific Battle Stars, the Presidential Unit Citation, Distinguished Flying Cross, and several Air Medals.
After World War II, Bailey flew for the Marine Corps Reserve and as a pilot for Air California Airlines. During the Korean War, he was ordered to active duty and deployed to Korea, earning two Battle Stars on his Korean Service Ribbon. After the Korean War, Bailey was selected as the staff pilot for Medal of Honor recipient Major General Christian Schilt. He flew as an Agency Pilot at Washington National Airport, where he transported presidential candidates.
While in Washington DC, Bailey was asked if he would consider moving to California to fly as Walt Disney’s pilot. Walt Disney stated that he wanted “only the best” pilot. Bailey spent 13 years as Chief Pilot for Walt Disney Productions. After flying over 32,000 accident-free hours in 33 different types of aircraft, Bailey’s flying career ended suddenly after a car accident. Kelvin Bailey passed away at the age of 84 in his Burbank, California home, on April 19, 2004.
For his long and distinguished flying service to his nation, and for his enduring legacy as one of our state’s most distinguished civilian pilots, Lt. Col. Kelvin W.A. Bailey is inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame on October 15, 2020.
Professor Harm Buning was born in The Hague, Netherlands, on July 31, 1922. He grew up in Holland and came to the United States in 1945, sponsored by his uncle, renowned physicist and teacher, George Uhlenbeck. Arriving in Ann Arbor in December of 1945, Harm received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan (U-M) in 1949 and 1951. After a three-year teaching position at Oregon State, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant professor, rose to professor in 1963.
Harm’s early interest was in aerodynamics and aircraft performance, but as the Space Race began, he realized the importance of astrodynamics and became an expert in mission analysis and spacecraft design. It is estimated that Professor Buning taught nearly all the U-M Aerospace Engineering’s 2,600 graduates during his 40 years of teaching. Some of his students include, Gemini IV astronauts Jim McDivitt and Ed White, Apollo 15 astronauts Dave Scott, Jim Irwin, and Al Worden, and Skylab 2 astronaut Jack Lousma.
Ed White invited Harm to the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas to teach orbital mechanics to the first two groups of astronauts. Professor Buning would make many trips to Houston to teach astronauts orbital rendezvous and docking: skills that would prove crucial for success of the manned lunar landings and space station programs. Professor Buning’s students at Houston included those he taught at the U-M, as well as Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and many others.
Harm Buning was awarded the Thurnau Award for teaching excellence in 1988. Professor Buning retired from U-M in 1992. Harm Buning passed away on May 12, 2006. He has a graduate teaching award and scholarship fund named in his honor.
For his dedication and contributions to education, aerospace, and spaceflight, and his legacy as a professor and mentor to many of our nation’s spaceflight pioneers, Harm Buning was inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame on October 15, 2020.
Ralph “Randy” Hotton was born on September 8, 1943 in Detroit, Michigan. The son of a tool and die maker at Ford Motor Company’s Willow Run Bomber Plant, Randy, recalls many trips to the Willow Run Airport as a child. Those early days began Randy’s lifelong relationship with Willow Run and aviation.
His father’s company owned a Lockheed 12A, in which Randy often occupied the right seat, next to company pilot, Bill Haddock. Bill taught Randy how to communicate with Air Traffic Controllers on the aircraft radios.
After graduating from Troy High School in 1961, Randy studied Secondary Education at Michigan State University. Randy also has a master’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Central Michigan University. In 1965, Randy pursued his dream of becoming a pilot by responding to a U.S. Navy pilot recruiting advertisement. Randy passed the preliminary tests with flying colors and began taking flight lessons from Bill Haddock, accomplishing his first solo flight on May 8, 1965.
In 1966, Hotton began Aviation Officer Candidate School, where graduated with top honors as best in his class in 1968. Volunteering to fly the Lockheed P-3 Orion, his unit served in southeast Asia, where he was awarded the Air Medal. Randy progressed to Patrol Plane Commander and a P-3 Instructor Pilot. Randy reported to the Naval Recruiting District Detroit in 1977. After three years as a Navy Recruiter, he received orders to the USS Enterprise, where he flew the Carrier On-Board Delivery and served as Officer of the Deck.
Randy joined the Navy Reserve, where he was assigned to Selfridge Air National Guard Base, as a P-3 Instructor Pilot, eventually taking command. Follow-on assignments included the Armed Forces Staff College and a billet on the Commander Naval Forces Europe Reserve Staff. Randy retired after 26 years of military service. Hotton now works for USA Jet Airlines at Willow Run Airport. Randy has served as Interim Executive Director, as well as Treasurer, of the Yankee Air Museum. In 2016, Randy published a history of Willow Run, titled Willow Run (Images of Aviation).
For his service to our nation and for his dedication and contributions to preserving Michigan’s aviation history, Ralph “Randy” Hotton is inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame on October 15, 2020.
Colonel James W. Smolka, born on July 31, 1950 in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, received his Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1972. He is a 1978 graduate of the Air Force Test Pilot School, served on active duty until 1983, and subsequently served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve until 1999. Among the aircraft he flew in the Air Force were the T-38, A-7D, OV-10A, A-37, A-10A, and F-15B. Smolka retired from the Air Force Reserve with the rank of colonel in 1999 after 27 years of active and reserve service. Smolka received Master of Science degrees in 1980 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in 1994. In 2011, he received a Master's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Washington.
Smolka was an F-16 experimental test pilot with General Dynamics Corporation for two years at Edwards. As a research pilot at NASA Dryden (now Armstrong), he flew the NF-15B research aircraft, and the Gulfstream/NASA F-15. He was co-project pilot on the F-16XL and the F-18.
Smolka served chief engineer at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center, in charge of the Airworthiness and Flight Safety Review Board that determines and provides the appropriate level of independent technical review for each project prior to flight.
In 2012, Smolka became the Director of Flight Operations at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. He was responsible for the Center's fleet of highly modified manned and unmanned aircraft that are flown on worldwide science, astronomy, and aeronautical flight research missions, as well as the flight and ground crews that fly and maintain them. Smolka retired from NASA in 2016 as the Director of Safety and Mission Assurance.
Smolka was inducted as a Fellow at the Society of Experimental Test Pilots 2012 Symposium. Smolka has authored several technical publications and taught several courses in the aerospace field. He has accumulated more than 9,000 hours of flight time during his flying career.
For his service to our nation and for his dedication and contributions to innovative aeronautical advances, James W. Smolka was inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame on October 15, 2020.
Robert “Bob” Staake was born in Camden, New Jersey, on May 17, 1951. He and his family moved to Michigan in 1954 where he would graduate from Allen Park High School in 1969. Volunteering for the draft in 1970, Staake was trained in helicopter repair and served one year in Vietnam as a UH-1H helicopter crew chief and door gunner, earning eight air medals. After Korea, he joined the Army Reserve. Using the GI Bill, he completed training as a commercial pilot and a certified flight instructor. Staake taught pilot ground school classes at Henry Ford Community College and worked as a Flight Instructor at Grosse Ille and Detroit Metro airports.
In 1980, Staake joined the Michigan Army National Guard. He graduated from Army Officer Candidate School, then completed Helicopter Flight School. Assigned as a scout helicopter pilot in Air Cavalry, flying single-pilot OH-59 Kiowa helicopters, he held several leadership positions throughout the years.
In 1981, Staake was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration. Staake graduated from the FAA Air Traffic Control Academy in 1984 and achieved Air Traffic Controller certification at Detroit Willow Run Tower. In 1987, he transferred to the FAA Flight Inspection Office in Battle Creek, where he worked as an Airspace System Inspection Pilot, designing instrument approach procedures, flight inspections, and certifying the national airspace system.
Staake retired from the Army in 2008 as a full Colonel, with over 31 years of military service and from the FAA in 2010. He achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embrey-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Master Degrees from the American Military University and the United States Army War College. Staake has accumulated over 12,000 pilot hours and is a certified Remote (Drone) Pilot. His awards include the United States Army Legion of Merit, Vietnam Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters), Air Medal (with seven oak leaf clusters), Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry (with palm), Republic of Vietnam Campaign Ribbon, and the State of Michigan Distinguished Service Medal.
For his dedication and service to our country and his contributions to Federal Flight Inspection and Air Traffic Control, Col. Robert F Staake is inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame on October 15, 2020.