Mary Feik, Colonel CAP

Presenting: "Timeless Voice of Aviation"

Wednesday, Feb. 15 during the conference's general session

Mary Feik overhauled her first automobile engine when she was 13, but turned to aircraft engines and military aircraft when she was 18.

She taught aircraft maintenance to crew chiefs and mechanics for the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942. During World War II she became an expert on several fighter aircraft and is credited with becoming the first woman engineer in research and development in the Air Technical Service Command's Engineering Division at Wright Field. She flew more than 5,000 hours, serving as a B-29 flight engineer, an engineering observer and a pilot in fighter, bomber, cargo and training aircraft.

Feik designed high-performance and jet fighter pilot transition trainers as well as aircraft maintenance trainers. She has authored pilot training manuals for many military aircraft and engineering reports for armed forces distribution. Feik is a professional restorer of antique and classic aircraft, and has worked at the National Air and Space Museum's Paul E. Garber Restoration Facility. Feik flies and maintains her own Piper Pacer aircraft.

Awarded the Order of Merit for outstanding leadership and support of Aerospace Education by the World Aerospace Education Organization, she was inducted into the Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame during the conference of Women in Aviation, International in March 1994. The FAA presented Feik with the Charles Taylor "Master Mechanic" Award in appreciation of dedicated service, technical expertise, professionalism and many outstanding maintenance contributions to further the cause of aviation safety. The award honors the Wright brothers' mechanic and engineer, and requires the recipient to have more than 50 years of experience.

Feik has had a life-long dedication to aviation with the Civil Air Patrol and other aviation organizations, and has received many awards for her efforts. Feik will be addressing the experienced members of our aviation community about the rewards of mentoring today's youth with their professional experience.

Connie Marshall

Presenting: "Climbing Mount Regulation"

Wednesday, Feb. 15 during the conference's general session

By constantly monitoring the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which was designed to make sure the impact on small business was considered during the regulatory process, Connie Marshall, the Small Business Administration's Regional Advocate for the Office of Advocacy, has helped small firms keep billions of dollars for job creation and new investment, instead of spending on overly burdensome bureaucratic rules.

President Bush appointed Marshall to the position of regional advocate for Region X (Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska) for the Office of Advocacy - which is an arm of the SBA in July.

In addition, Marshall has been mayor of the city of Bellevue, Wash., since 2002, having been re-elected to a second mayoral term in 2004. She has been serving on the council since 1998. As mayor, she is currently focusing her efforts on regional solutions to transportation congestion, neighborhood vitality and economic prosperity for the community. Marshall was recently named as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the State by Washington CEO Magazine, and she was named "2003-2004 Woman of the Year" by Bellevue Business and Professional Women Organization. In addition, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) named her 2004 Local Official of the Year. Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree from the Ohio State University and an master's degree in marketing/advertising from Loyola University, Chicago.

Craig Hoskins, MS

Presenting: "Practical Solutions for Managing Safety Programs"

Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the Safety Awards Luncheon

Craig Hoskins will address managing safety mandates, including Federal Aviation Administration's Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), giving air carriers tools to identify safety issues and trends. This ASAP information lets them take corrective actions before an accident or incident happens.

Hoskins holds a master's of degree in training and leadership. He is a line pilot, director of flight safety, and crew resource management facilitator for JetBlue Airways. As director, flight safety, he oversees the ASAP program, Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) program, cabin safety program and investigations/data analysis team. In the crew resource management role, he has developed and implemented specialized CRM training programs for pilots and flight attendants.

Hoskins is a graduate of the U.S. Army Aviation Safety Officer Course, University of Southern California Aviation Safety Certificate Program, and the NASA-Ames Fatigue Countermeasures Course. A former U.S. Coast Guard officer and aviator, he has accumulated more than 23 years of aviation/human factors experience that includes military and commercial operations as a technician, safety consultant, mishap investigator, pilot and human factors analyst.

Hoskins is type-rated in the Lockheed HC-130H (L382) and is a designated simulator instructor and flight examiner. He has amassed more than 7,000 flight hours that includes experience in the Beechcraft King Air, HC-130H, Douglas DC-9 Series 10/30/40/50 and Airbus A320. He has developed and conducted numerous training courses/seminars on aviation maintenance, crew resource management, human factors, fatigue countermeasures, and team building/process improvements for military operations, government organizations and airlines worldwide.

Wilfred and Lee Ryan, Mike and Brien Salazar, Warren and Chip Metzger

Presenting: "Pioneers of Aviation and the Next Generation" - A panel discussion led by Bob Jacobsen, president of Wings of Alaska Airlines, featuring longtime aviators and their sons, regarding Alaska's history, technology and regulatory needs.

Thursday, Feb. 16 during the Screenwriters Luncheon

Wilfred Ryan

Wilfred P. Ryan, more commonly known to friends and associates as "Boyuck," was born to Wilfred and Eva Ryan in Unalakleet on April 10, 1953. He was raised in Unalakleet, graduating from Covenant High School in 1971. He has six sisters and two brothers, and has a long history of Inupiaq, Irish and Russian heritage. His great grandfather on Wilfred's side of the family immigrated to Alaska from Ireland during the Klondike Gold Rush. His great-grandfather on Eva's side was a Russian fur trader in Alaska during the late 1800s. Both maternal great-grandmothers were full-blooded Eskimos.

While in high school at age 17, Ryan acquired his private pilot's license and acquired his airline transport pilots and flight instructor certificates at age 23. Today, Ryan has more than 28,000 flight hours, all primarily in Western Alaska. He attended the Alaska Methodist University in Anchorage, then Linfield College in Oregon. In 1991, he acquired his associate's degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Ryan served as chief pilot from 1971 to 1977 for Unalakleet Air Taxi, a charter company that his father started in 1953. As president, he changed the name of the company to Ryan Air Service which once was the largest commuter airline in the state, serving 80 rural communities with 35 aircraft and 380 employees.

In 1988, Ryan left Ryan Air Service and worked for Baker Aviation in Kotzebue as a chief pilot. In 1989, the Bering Strait School District considered opening a new flight department and hired Ryan as the travel manager and pilot where he worked for seven years. From 1996 to 1997, Ryan worked again for Baker Aviation as the director of operations. Finally returning to Arctic Transportation Services (formerly Ryan Air Service) in 1997, Ryan now serves as the president of ATS.

In addition to his aviation career, Wilfred served as a board member for the Unalakleet Native Corp., from 1973 to 1976; as mayor of Unalakleet from 1983 to 1984; as a board member for the Norton Sound Emergency Medical Services from 1984 to 1986; and as a former board member with the AACA from 1985 to 1988. Ryan currently serves as vice president of The Alaska Air Carriers Association Board of Directors.

Lee Ryan

Lee Ryan is 25 years old and employed by Arctic Transportation Services in Kotzebue as a CASA-212 captain and station manager. He obtained his commercial ratings at the Flight Safety Academy in Vero Beach, Calif., and acquired an ATP certificate in May 2004 at the age of 23. Ryan graduated from the University of Alaska in December 2004, with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Growing up around the family business in Unalakleet, there was never a question in his mind about aviation as a career choice. Ryan comes from a family of aviators: his grandfather was a pilot; his father and six uncles are also commercial pilots.

Ryan is an executive council member for the Inuit Circumpolar Youth Conference and a member of the United Inuit Youth of Alaska. He was a delegate to the January 2006 Conference of Young Alaskans, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Alaska's Constitutional Convention.

In addition to his passion for aviation, Ryan enjoys skiing and playing hockey and basketball. He is an avid fisherman and outdoor enthusiast.

Michael Salazar

Michael Salazar was born May 14, 1941 in Kanakanak to Louis A. and Margaret A. (O'Brien) Salazar. He married Barbara Ann Dunn in November of 1966, and was widowed in August of 1992. Children are Gerald O'Brien Salazar and Cassee Simmons. Both of his children have provided him with two grandchildren, Gavin and Tessa Salazar, and Alec and Patton Simmons.

Salazar has served as mayor of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough since October 2002, and is on the Governor's Statewide Aviation Advisory Board. As a professional pilot, Salazar has 18,000 hours of helicopter and fixed-wing flying time, 14,000 hours Alaska flying time and flew more than 1,800 hours in combat in Vietnam. He holds a commercial airplane and helicopter pilots license, airplane SE land and sea, multi-engine land, instrument aircraft and helicopter, flight instructor helicopter.

Salazar holds a a degree in personnel management and industrial relations from Seattle University. Other education includes: U.S. Army Signal School, U.S. Army Rotary Wing Aviation School, University of Southern California; 15 SH/MBA in Aerospace Management, Hughes 500 Helicopter Factory Training, Helicopter Operators Management Course (HAI) and Insurance Property and Casualty School.

Some of Salazar's many business accomplishments are listed beginning with the most recent: account executive Acordia NW Insurance since March 2001, VP SandS Aircraft Leasing since 1988, president of Ketchikan Air Service Inc. from 1969-1997, president of Pacific Northwest Helicopters (Aero Logging) from 1993-1996, owner of Airport Lounge and Snack Bar 1983-1998, president of Juneau Airport Services Inc. from 1985-1989, chief pilot of Temsco Helicopters from 1969-1972, U.S. Army Captain from January 1964 to July 1969. Mike has been featured in Hispanic Business Magazine, Vintage Airplane, Entrepreneur Magazine and Plane and Pilot. Mike spent two tours in Vietnam and received numerous military decorations including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Air Medal with V devise, and two Bronze Stars.

Brien Salazar

Brien Salazar is the president and chief executive officer of his own company, Taquan Air, which operates a fleet of seven Dehavilland Beavers in Ketchikan. Salazar purchased the company and successfully turned it around in 2000. He also has served as the Alaska Air Carriers Association's treasurer on a volunteer basis for the past three years.

Salazar has a life-long involvement in the aviation industry, is a commercial pilot with more than 6,500 hours and has served as president, director of operations, vice president and chief operating officer of several Part 135 and 121 airlines. In 2002, Salazar was selected by the Alaska Journal of Commerce as one of the "Top 40 Under 40" Alaska business executives.

In 2004, Salazar became the founder and president of a major new tour attraction offered on board all major cruise lines serving Alaska. The Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary was an enormous success in its first year, earning Salazar the recognition of the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau for outstanding leadership and new ideas. In 2005, Salazar founded Alaska Canopy Adventures, a new adventure tour also sold onboard all cruise lines serving Alaska. He serves as president and is currently expanding the company's operation to include Juneau from its base in Ketchikan. Salazar holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Washington and a bachelor's degree from Washington State University.

Warren Metzger

Warren C. Metzger soloed in October of 1938 in a Taylor Cub at Tri-State University in Indiana. He graduated from college in 1940 with a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering. Metzger then worked briefly for Martin Aircraft and Briggs Aircraft before joining the Army Air Corps in 1941.

Metzger flew boarder patrol and tow targets as well as radio-controlled experimental aircraft. He also instructed and flew transport command before discharge in 1945. From 1945 to 1948 Metzger worked for British Airservices, World Wide Aviation and Canadaair as a pilot and engineer. In May of 1948 he was hired by Alaska Airlines as an engineer, transferred to being a pilot in June, and met his future wife, Marian, who was a new flight attendant, in July.

He flew all over the world with Alaska Airlines in several kinds of aircraft. In the last months of 1948, Metzger flew in the Berlin Airlift. On Jan. 1, 1949, Alaska Airlines sent Metzger to Israel for "Operation Magic Carpet." There, Warren, a C-46 captain, and Marian, a flight attendant, were part of what turned out to be one of the greatest feats in Alaska Airlines' history - airlifting thousands of Yemenite Jews to the newly created nation of Israel. What Warren and Marian thought was a temporary assignment turned into a seven-month mission of mercy. It also launched a marriage that endures to this day. Warren and Marian were married in Asmara, Africa, in January 1949 and have three children.

In 1967, at Unalakleet, Metzger was the first pilot to land a commercial jet in scheduled service on a gravel runway. He worked with Boeing to ensure the engines would not ingest the gravel, thus making it possible to land on gravel safely. Metzger became chief pilot and vice president of operations for Alaska Airlines in 1970. During this time he worked out the instrument approaches for Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg and Valdez. Metzger retired from Alaska Airlines in 1979.

After retirement, he flew for a Kuwait Air Service for a short time and was an expert witness in several accident cases. Metzger has piloted many military aircraft including the Military Tiger Moth, PT-19, BT-9 and 14, BC-1, AT-6, B-10, Beech 17 and 18, Douglas A-20, L-1, PQ-8 and 14, O-52, O-47, B-34, B-37, AT-23, B-26, B-25, P-47, F-4U, F-4F, P-39, A-24, A-25, C-46 and C-47. The civilian aircraft he has piloted include: The Taylor-Cub J-2, T-Craft, Aeronica, Stinson Detroiter and SR-10, Pilgrim, Beaver, Widgeon and the Curtiss C-46. All models of single-engine Cessna, PA-12, DC-3, 4 and 6, Lockheed Constellation 1049 and 1649 and the C-130 Hercules, Convair 240, 340, 440, and the 880 and 990 jet, Martin 404, Dehaviland Twin Otter and Boeing 727, 707 and 720. Warren and Marian now live in Kent, Wash.

Chip Metzger

Warren Metzger II, or Chip (for 'chip off the old block') to everyone who knows him, was born and raised in Anchorage and has been flying in airplanes since before he can remember. Thinking himself a recreational pilot since those first flights in his dad's PA-12, Metzger followed his family to Seattle, finished college and pursued careers in carpentry and the ski industry before deciding to make his living flying.

His first commercial job was in the Cessna 180, 185 and Beaver floatplanes at Lake Chelan in eastern Washington. He spent another year flying Beavers for Lake Union Air Service - now defunct - in Seattle, before returning to Alaska in 1992 to work for MarkAir Express. Metzger spent a little more than a year in the Bush flying C172s, 207s and a 185 amphibian before moving back to Anchorage to fly the Beech 1900. He spent one year with Peninsula Airways after MarkAir Express ceased operations, flying the Metroliner and Conquest before hiring on with his current employer, Alaska Central Express, in 1997.

Metzger took a leave of absence from ACE in the summer of 1998 to reprise his love of float flying with Ketchum Air Service in the 206 and Beavers. To date, he has more than 16,000 hours of mostly Alaska time in his logbook. Metzger and his wife, Kimberly, live in Anchorage with their three children.

Randy Zahn

Presenting: "Duty, Honor, the World"

Friday, Feb. 17 during the Medallion Foundation Luncheon

If your interests lie in military stories, rotary-wing aviation or are a lover of a good autobiography, you won't want to miss Randy Zahn's engaging luncheon presentation.

Zahn dreamt of flying from the age of 5. His parents would take him to their local airport with a packed lunch and he would sit and watch the airplanes take off and land on the weekends. The first airplane in which he ever went up, he jumped out of at the age of 17. He had his first flying lesson at age 17, but had never been on a commercial airline flight until he was 18 years old.

Zahn joined the U.S. Army for the Warrant Officer Rotary-Wing Aviators program in 1968. He graduated from the U.S. Army Aviation School and was selected for the AH-1G Cobra transition course before deploying to Vietnam. Zahn served as an attack helicopter pilot with Charlie Troop, 1/9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). In September 1970 Zahn was wounded in action and faced never flying again, a thought that he would never accept. Zahn retired from the U.S. Army Reserve in February 2004, having served on active duty and in the National Guard and Reserves for 34 years and three months. During that time he was also assigned to the U.S. Navy in the United Kingdom for five years and was a consultant to the Royal Air Force in the establishment in their crew resource management program.

He has flown more than 50 different types of aircraft, both fixed- and rotary-wing, worked in 27 different countries, and holds FAA, CAA and JAA ATP ratings in helicopters and also holds a commercial pilots license for single and multi-engine airplanes. He is the author of Snake Pilot, his memoir of his year in Vietnam as a 19-year-old attack helicopter pilot. In December 2005 Zahn was a subject for The Military Channel's Vietnam episode of their Going Back series. He still flies helicopters internationally for a living. Zahn and his wife, Kim, and their two sons, Brent and Kyle, reside in Eagle River.