His shop was (if memory serves me correctly) the first Lear Jet dealership (and for a long time, the only one) west of the Rockies, as well as the first Lear Jet charter operation, and maintenance center. Lacy skillfully cultivated the business of the celebrity crowd — Los Angeles / Hollywood / Beverly Hills “jet-setters” — turning Lear Jet travel into a status symbol, and making it a definitive aspect of the “lifestyles of the rich and famous.” Were it not for Lacy, it’s entirely conceivable that the Lear Jet (now known as “Learjet”) would have never gained its notoriety and success (especially given the horrific crash rates that plagued the early Lear designs, and the incredibly fragile business model constructed by Bill Lear, who soon lost control of his own company), and might have been overwhelmed by its many fine competitors which appeared right on its heels, or even before it.

None of these aspects, though, could top the Lacy-reinforced image of the plane as the “ultimate” expression of prestige, power and success. Eventually, as Lears and Citations became common, the glory title drifted to the scarcer, far-grander and costlier Gulfstream jets, which hold the “status-symbol” title today.

But at its inception, the Gulfstream II (the Gulfstream I was a turboprop) was a distant concept to Americans, while the Lear Jet was the nation’s definition of sexy style, success, and status. Lacy’s expert Lear Jet courtship of the West Coast celebrity crowd made that a reality.

(Kudos, too, of course, to Alex Kvassy, Lear’s resourceful, intrepid international sales chief, who creatively wrangled the Lear into the limelight at every chance, and angled incalculable sums out of the most unlikely customers at a time when every single sale was a make-or-break moment for Lear Jet. A few others, too, played key roles, though I’m not clear anymore on just whom. And, of course, Lear himself was sufficiently ambitious and daring to make possible the whole thing.)

In the end, though, I suspect it was Lacy, above all others, who made Lear Jet a success in the face of existing respectable competition (North American Sabreliner, Lockheed JetStar, Jet Commander, deHavilland/Hawker DH-125/HS-125), and powerful latecomer rivals (including mighty Cessna and Beech).

But arguably the world’s most renowned “creative” aviation photographer is our own local boy, Paul Bowen

And the undisputed master of aerial motion-picture cinematography is Wichita-bred Clay Lacy (who, by the way, is also quite arguably the most influential pioneer in the bizjet business — as an encore to his role as the chief pilot of United Airlines).

That’s a substantial bit of world-renowned artistic talent for a town “in the sticks.”

Lacy’s WSU event was quite well attended, with literally hundreds of the aviation community present, including leaders of every stripe.