The Australian Bicentennial Award

Awarded as an ongoing commemoration of the Australian Bi-Centenary, to recognise an outstanding individual contribution to Australian aviation.

2021 Awarded to:  Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Fox RAAF

Flight Lieutenant Fox is a specialist aircrew officer and flying instructor of the highest calibre. His dedication to pilot training and standardisation whilst flying the 737-Boeing Business Jet at Number 34 Squadron have upheld the exacting standards required in the provision of VIP transport in support of the Government of Australia.

Flight Lieutenant Fox joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1987 and graduated from the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1989. He completed his pilot training in 1991 followed by operational tours on Falcon 900 and P3C Orion aircraft. In 1998, he graduated from flying instructor course followed by instructional tours at Number 2 Flying Training School and Central Flying School flying the PC-9A.

Achieving Squadron Leader rank in 2000 and Wing Commander in 2007, Flight Lieutenant Fox completed postings at Number 34 Squadron and various executive roles culminating in Command of Number 33 Squadron.

Returning to his passion in 2013, Flight Lieutenant Fox successfully gained a Specialist Aircrew posting at Number 34 Squadron accepting responsibility for pilot check, training and standardisation on the 737-Boeing Business Jet whilst also serving as an on-call line captain. The Specialist Aircrew role is designed to retain corporate knowledge guarding against routine Military posting cycles; Flight Lieutenant Fox has achieved this and continues to provide exemplary service in this role.

Flight Lieutenant Fox has been instrumental in the development of 737-Boeing Business Jet orders instructions and publications, and the training syllabus across all upgrade steps. Underpinning pilot training is excellent corporate partnerships, and another of Flight Lieutenant Fox’s roles has been to foster and develop industry provision of Flight Simulator training. He recently proved his finesse in this area, transitioning to a new simulator training provider brought about by financial pressure within the airline industry due to the pandemic.

Flight Lieutenant Fox achieved several career milestones during 2020. He has accumulated the highest number of 737-Boeing Business Jet flying hours of any Royal Australian Air Force pilot and also became the first Royal Australian Air Force pilot to achieve the coveted A-Category Captain rating on the 737-Boeing Business Jet. In addition, Flight Lieutenant Fox has achieved qualifications as a Flying Instructor Category Assessor and Senior Instrument Rating Examiner. These allow him to assess flying categories for flying instructors/examiners on behalf of the Central Flying School. This rare in-house capability proved essential to maintaining VIP transport capability across both 737-Boeing Business Jet and Falcon F7X types during recent domestic travel restrictions.

Always respectful and highly respected, Flight Lieutenant Fox possesses a natural talent as an instructor and mentor. His dedication to the provision of VIP transport training and standardisation are of the highest order and in keeping with the traditions of Number 34 Squadron and the Royal Australian Air Force.  He is the deserving recipient of the Australian Bi-Centennial Award.

Previous Winners:

1987/88 Captain T Thom

1988/89 Keith Robey MBE

1989/90 Wing Commander K C Andrews

1990/91 Captain J K Davenport

1991/92 Group Captain J W C Baker RAF

1992/93 A J (John) Douglas Esq

1993/94 Captain A Wickes

1994/95 John R Colwell Esq

1995 Mrs Senja Raymond Robey

1996/97 Glenn Elms Esq

1997/98 Captain John W Kessey

1998/99 Langley Kidby

1999/2000 Captain Philip Davenport

2000/01 Stephen Ingham

2001/02 Allana Corbin

2003/04 Captain Peter James Raven

  2005  Not Awarded

2005/06 Bill Bristow

2006/07 David H Lowy

2007/08 Not Awarded

2008/09 Peter Nottage

2009/10 Group Captain Dr Robert Lee

  2011  Not Awarded

2011/12 Dr Carol Lesley Durkin PhD LLM BA DipSocStud

2012/13 Christopher Sperou

2013/14 Captain Patrick Stuart Murray

2014/15 Harry Schneider

2016  Matt Hall

2017  Bastiaan Scheffers

2018  Wing Commander Ian Mallett DFC RAAF(retd)

2019  Nathan Higgins

2020  Gregory James Hood FRAeS

2021  Flight Lieutenant Geoffrey Fox RAAF