Hill, Sr., Guy Franklin
Guy Franklin Hill, Sr., was born in 1921, and grew up in Douglas and Carroll Counties, Georgia. In 1941, he entered the United States Navy. After completing his training, he served as a crew member in a PBY anti-submarine squadron in the Caribbean and later was assigned to the VPB-1l6 Blue Raiders. The Blue Raiders operated in several of the Pacific Islands including Iwo Jima and were the first B-24 Liberator squadron to operate from Tinian. In 1947, Hill com­pleted his active tour with the Navy. He later worked for Trans Texas Airlines in Houston, Texas, and for Southeastern Aviation at what then was Candler Field, now known as Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Hill then leased a small private airport just south of Atlanta where he did maintenance and aircraft sales. In 1955, he purchased an existing operation at Atlanta's Fulton County Airport and started Hill Aircraft, offering line service, aircraft charter, sales, maintenance, parts support and avionics. The company is one of the leaders in Fixed Base Operation (FBO) services in Georgia, and continues to operate as a fam­ily owned and operated entity.
Hill has served on the board of direc­tors for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA), and his company has been a member of the Georgia Air Trades Association (GATA), the Georgia Business Aviation Association (GBAA), and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) for many years. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the National Air Transportation Association. He served eleven years in the Georgia Legislature, along with former Governor Zell Miller, who recognized him for his many contributions to Georgia Aviation. Auto Pilot Magazine christened Hill, "Georgia Aviation Icon."
In recognition of his distinguished contributions to military and civil­ian aviation, Guy Franklin Hill, Sr., was enshrined on April 24, 2004, into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.