SEATTLE, WA -- The Museum of Flight honors Pacific Northwest individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of the aerospace industry with its annual Pathfinder Award. In 2011 the Museum honored Aviation professional Steve Fulton during an event at the Museum of Flight on October 1.
"It is a tremendous privilege to share the honor of being a Pathfinder recipient with the likes of the late Alaska Airlines CEO Bruce Kennedy, Horizon Air founder, Milt Kuolt, William Boeing Jr. and Sr. and Carolyn Corvi," said Steve Fulton, technical fellow with GE Aviation.
Steve Fulton is a pioneer in the design of modern Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) instrument flight procedures. As a Technical Pilot at Alaska Airlines beginning in 1992, he led the development of improved aircraft departure and arrival operations at Juneau, Alaska using Required Navigation Performance (RNP), an advanced form of PBN. The RNP procedures ensure that the aircraft always flies inside a precisely defined "tunnel" in the sky. The RNP arrival and departure procedures certified for operations in the Juneau Gastineau Channel were the world's first RNP procedures, and are still flown by Alaska Airlines, connecting the Alaska capitol to the outside world during prolonged periods of low clouds.
In February 2003, Fulton co-founded GE's PBN Services (Naverus) to provide RNP solutions for airlines and air navigation service providers around the world. Steve Fulton is currently a Technical Fellow with GE Aviation.
Fulton has also co-authored three U.S. patents on air data formats for electronic primary flight displays and principles of RNP design. He has been awarded the 1998 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Operations Award, the 2006 Aviation Week Laureate Award, the 2006 Aviation Week Technology Breakthrough Award, the 2007 Embry-Riddle Pinnacle Award, the 2008 Going Green Top 100 Winner, and the 2009 Air Transport World Technology Award.
The Pathfinder Award honorees are selected by the Museum of Flight Board of Trustees from among nominees chosen by the Museum, the Pacific Northwest Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and representatives of other aviation and aerospace organizations and companies throughout the Northwest.