2019 Tony Bingelis Award

July 3, 2019 - Congratulations to Dave Prizio, EAA Lifetime 436037, recipient of the 2019 Tony Bingelis Award.

The Tony Bingelis Award recognizes EAA technical counselors for dedicated service and/or significant contributions in assisting members to build and restore aircraft.

EAA Director of Chapters and Homebuilding Charlie Becker said EAA named the award after Tony Bingelis because he was such an influential writer for the magazine over the years.

"He wrote an ongoing column in the magazine for decades," Charlie said. "Many of those articles were the foundation for his own books on building your own aircraft. We continue to sell those books, and they are considered the bible of homebuilding; they reside on just about every homebuilder's bookshelf."

Tony was inducted into the EAA Homebuilders Hall of Fame in 1995 and the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame in 2002.

Recipients of the award are carefully chosen by a committee of their peers as outstanding examples of people whose contributions have positively affected members' aircraft building or restoration projects.

Dave was nominated by Richard Eastman, EAA 810822, and several other individuals who shared heartfelt letters of recommendation with Charlie and the rest of the committee.

"To the extent that others need help or want advice — or to just talk over an idea about their airplane — Dave Prizio is there," Richard said. "I've met and flown with a lot of pilots over those years. Yet, I do not recall meeting any other person quite so dedicated to promoting builder education and aviation safety at all levels, particularly as it relates to the standards of EAA."

Charlie said this award is EAA's way of recognizing an outstanding technical counselor each year.

"It's a way of recognizing his commitment to the program, his dedication to the homebuilt movement, and his commitment to safety," Charlie said. "This is one of the most prestigious awards that we give out each year. It's only given out to one person."

Dave expressed his deep gratitude for the award and said this award is a reflection of the people who helped him in his many accomplishments.

"I'm honored to have the award. It just makes me think of all the people that helped me along the way, and I certainly would have never gotten there by myself," Dave said. "I would like to recognize my dear departed friend Ed Zaleski for all the time he spent helping me."

Anyone can nominate someone for the Tony Bingelis Award. The only requirement is that the nominee be an EAA technical counselor. To learn more about the award and how to nominate someone, visit here.