Nominate leaders in vertical aviation for VAI’s 2026 Salute to Excellence Awards Nominations are open through Friday, Oct. 17, for VAI’s Salute to Excellence Awards. Learn more about the Safety and Communications Awards in this installment of a continuing series of articles about the program. Vertical Aviation International (VAI) is seeking nominations for its 2026 Salute to Excellence Awards program, which recognizes outstanding achievement across all forms of vertical aviation, including helicopters, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft. The program’s 11 award categories honor individuals and organizations worldwide for excellence in operations, safety, leadership, innovation, and service. Two of the categories, the Safety and Communications Awards, are highlighted below. Anyone can submit a nomination, and anyone can be nominated. VAI membership is not required! Our next installment about the Salute to Excellence Awards will feature another pair of the program’s categories. To read about previous honorees in all categories, visit our gallery of winners from past years, which appears directly below the 11 award categories on our Salute to Excellence web page. Spotlight on Safety and Communications Awards • Safety Award: Sponsored by BLR Aerospace, this award acknowledges outstanding contributions to promoting safety and safety awareness throughout the helicopter or UAS aircraft community. • Communications Award: This award is given to the individual or organization in aviation media that achieves the most creative and distinct dissemination of information about the helicopter or UAS aircraft industry. The Salute to Excellence Award winners will be honored during VERTICON®, which takes place Mar. 9–12, 2026, (exhibits open Mar 10–12), in Atlanta, Georgia. Send in your nomination now! The deadline for nominations is Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. Submit Your Nomination
