Lloyd Kelley, son of the late Bill and Hulaine Kelley of Grand Chenier and South Cameron High School Alumni, is the most recent recipient of the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) presents this prestigious award to qualifying individuals who have at least 50 years of exemplary aviation flight experience, distinguished professionalism, and steadfast commitment to aviation safety. Honorees are nominated and vetted by the FAA. To date, roughly 9,800 pilots in the United States have been honored with this award, and less than 100 have been from Louisiana. There are currently over 800,000 FAA-certified airmen in the U.S.

Kelley has been a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) for 52 years and counting. He has also been a Commercial Pilot, Airline Transport Pilot, Chief Pilot, Designated Pilot Examiner, and an FAA Operations Inspector. Some of the Type Ratings that Kelley holds are Cessna Citations 500 and 650, Dassault Falcon 2000, Gulfstream G200, Hawker, and Learjet 45.

It’s fitting that he would become such a distinguished pilot, as he was born in the Hospital at Chennault Air Force Base, in Lake Charles, in 1953. At just 14, he heard about flying lessons at McFillen Airpark for only $5. After repeatedly making the long trip from Grand Chenier to Lake Charles, his parents insisted that he finally get his driver’s license so he could finish his lessons on his own. He took his first solo flight at just 15 years old. Soon after, the sky became Kelley’s freeway. As an adult, living a short 40-minute drive from his parents, he’d fly down to Grand Chenier, make a couple of rounds over their house, and they would get in the car to pick him up at Mr. Jeff Nunez’s airstrip down the road. After years of flying privately, he got the opportunity to work for the Federal Aviation Administration. He spent years between the Dallas/Fort Worth and Baton Rouge locations. Though his location of “home” has changed throughout the years, he always made his way to the local Catholic Church, where he has volunteered as a Catechism Teacher, so that he could also share his faith and love of God. After officially retiring, he is now back in Lake Charles and getting into a cockpit as often as he can.

Kelley’s unwavering professionalism, immense knowledge, heartfelt encouragement, and mentorship have helped to shape countless successful pilots throughout his career. He continues to instruct new pilots to this day, instilling the same love of airspace that he has. His family and friends are incredibly proud of his achievements and even happier to have him close to home once again.