NBAA to Bestow its Highest Honor to Aviation Trailblazer Steuart Walton
/The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) today announced that aviator, entrepreneur and business leader Steuart Walton will receive the Meritorious Service to Aviation Award during a presentation at the 2025 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas, NV.
“Steuart Walton is a visionary and generational leader who is transforming Northwest Arkansas into a model of aviation excellence,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “His pioneering work provides a vivid demonstration of the many ways aviation can inspire, connect, promote innovation, generate jobs, spur economic development, assist in responding to natural disasters and promote sustainability.”
Walton is the co-founder and chairman of Game Aerospace, which builds the FAA-certified GB1 GameBird, a clean-sheet, composite aerobatic aircraft, in Bentonville, AR. The company is also developing the GB2 StormBird, a purpose-built aerial firefighting aircraft that will help the world respond to wildfires and highlight the critical humanitarian capabilities of general aviation.
A prominent leader in fostering the development of advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft and infrastructure, Walton established Bentonville as one of the host cities for the UP.Summit. Founded in 2017, the annual event gathers aerospace leaders, entrepreneurs, technologists and investors dedicated to advancing human mobility.
Walton has also played a central role in establishing Bentonville Municipal Airport – Louise Thaden Field (VBT) as one of the most accessible, vibrant and forward-looking general aviation airports anywhere. Providing a template for others to follow, the airport includes a flight school, playground, exhibition hangar, FAA testing center, public park and award-winning cafe. Serving as a portal to the region, it has become a destination attraction that draws visitors from across the U.S. and around the globe to experience backcountry flying, lakeside hiking and world-class bicycling trails.
A passionate aviator, Walton has also restored and flown a variety of vintage aircraft, including the North American P-51 Mustang, Goodyear F2G-1 Super Corsair, F8F Bearcat and a British Supermarine Spitfire. His collection of more than 70 restored World War II-era warbirds and vehicles are accessible to the public and reflect the aviation community’s reverence for its history.
In 2020, Walton chaired the Arkansas Economic Recovery Task Force that helped to reopen businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In his capacity as chair, he also led an aerial demonstration team that traveled to 15 cities across the Natural State in support of first responders and to pay tribute to those lost to the disease.
He serves on the board of directors for Walmart, a company with a history inextricably connected to business aviation. Walmart’s founder, Sam Walton, flew his single-engine Ercoupe 415-C to ensure quality standards at early stores, and to scout future locations. Today, Walmart operates a significant fleet of business aircraft from the company’s Bentonville base, helping the company be more efficient, productive and successful in today’s highly competitive business marketplace.
Walton’s contributions reflect a commitment to using aviation as a catalyst for innovation and regional economic development. Referring to the value of business aviation to businesses during an NBAA-BACE keynote address in 2019, Walton observed: “The aviation industry must continue to serve businesses, individuals and communities. Aviation innovations have greatly impacted these three constituencies all over the world, and it’s going to take that same innovative spirit to fuel the industry’s impact on the next generation.”
First presented in 1950, NBAA’s Meritorious Service to Aviation Award celebrates extraordinary lifelong professional contributions to aviation. Past recipients include Jimmy Doolittle, Donald Douglas, Kelly Johnson, Gene Cernan, Bob Hoover, the Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Learn more about this award.
Taking place this year Oct. 14-16, NBAA-BACE is the world’s most powerful business aviation event, showcasing the industry’s latest innovations and services and hosting the leaders who are driving business aviation toward a bright and sustainable future. Learn more about NBAA-BACE.