AEAC 2026 — Award Nominations

Spencer Fraser has dedicated over 40 years to advancing Canada's military, aerospace, and uncrewed systems sectors. His career embodies the vision, integrity, and industry leadership that define the Pip Rudkin Individual Achievement Award.

After 20 years as an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy, Spencer transitioned to aerospace, becoming President and General Manager of Meggitt Training Systems Canada. He led the company's growth into a globally recognized developer and exporter of uncrewed aerial, ground, and maritime systems, delivering Canadian technology to more than 25 countries. His leadership advanced next generation target systems and contributed to the Noctua and Nankeen programs, supporting Canadian and Australian operations in Afghanistan through deployment of the Heron MALE UAV.

Seeing the need for national coordination, Spencer helped establish the Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (CCUVS), serving as Chairman and strengthening collaboration among industry, government, academia, and regulators. His efforts helped lay the foundation for Canada's internationally recognized BVLOS capabilities and reinforced Canada's position as a global leader in autonomous systems.

As Founder and CEO of Landing Zones Canada, Spencer continues to drive innovation through reusable autonomous aircraft and atmospheric intelligence technologies with commercial, environmental, and defense applications. His work demonstrates how Canadian ingenuity can address global challenges while expanding national capability and export potential.

A respected mentor, Spencer has guided engineers, entrepreneurs, military personnel, and emerging leaders, building organizations and partnerships that continue to strengthen Canada's RPAS community.

Spencer Fraser has advanced uncrewed aviation through innovation, collaboration, and service. His impact extends across the organizations he has led and the industry he has helped shape, inspiring the next generation of leaders.

For more than ten years, Martin Laporte has provided decisive leadership as General Manager and Head of R&D at DroneVolt Canada. Under his direction, the company has established itself as a key player in aerial robotics in Québec, notably through the development of the LINEDRONE, the world's first platform capable of inspecting live power lines up to 315 kV, which was recognized with ADRIQ's 2025 Partnership Award alongside Hydro-Québec and Nucleom.

A visionary, Martin Laporte's contributions go beyond technological innovation: he designed and taught North America's first professional light-drone piloting course, in collaboration with the CQFA, which has since become a technical reference for numerous international manufacturers and an important foundation for the development of Transport Canada's regulatory framework. Through this work, he has trained a generation of pilots and integrators, guiding their development through demanding yet supportive mentorship.

His collaborative approach is reflected in the structuring partnerships he has built among industry, institutions, and public services. Projects involving precision spraying, high-pressure cleaning, nuclear detection, and long-range de-icing have all been carried out through a co-development approach, where professional camaraderie and knowledge-sharing lie at the heart of the multidisciplinary teams he leads.

Through the scope of his contributions, Martin Laporte fully embodies the legacy of Pip Rudkin: a lasting commitment to safety, operational excellence, and the transmission of knowledge. His career shows how a leader can, through technology, mentorship, and cooperation, advance an entire sector and strengthen the aviation community. For these reasons, I warmly recommend his candidacy for the AEAC's 2026 Pip Rudkin Individual Achievement Award.

Alan Chapman has been a driving force behind the advancement of RPAS and Advanced Air Mobility in Canada. Through his leadership at NAV CANADA, he has helped develop the frameworks, partnerships, and technologies that enable the safe integration of remotely piloted aircraft into Canadian airspace while supporting innovation across the aviation sector.

A respected visionary and innovator, Alan has spearheaded RPAS Traffic Management initiatives that have positioned Canada among global leaders in airspace modernization. His work has enabled the growth of BVLOS operations, automated airspace access, and future AAM integration.

Internationally, Alan has been an exceptional ambassador for Canada through his active participation in ICAO, CANSO, and global aviation forums, helping shape discussions on the future of integrated airspace and fostering collaboration among regulators, ANSPs, and industry stakeholders.

Equally important is his commitment to mentorship and community building. Alan is known for sharing knowledge, supporting emerging professionals, and bringing diverse stakeholders together to solve complex challenges and advance the industry.

His leadership contributed to NAV CANADA's recognition with the 2026 CANSO Seamless Skies Award for Project Evolution and the National Drone Incident Response Protocol, two initiatives that have significantly advanced the safe development of the lower airspace economy.

Through his vision, humility, leadership, and lasting impact on Canadian and international aviation, Alan Chapman embodies the spirit of the Pip Rudkin Individual Achievement Award.

A former career journalist, Scott built his first tricopter back in 2010 and attended his first USC-STC conference in 2014. He then left The Star to pursue a career writing about uncrewed technologies.

Since then, Scott has made major and lasting contributions to the technology sector at large, and to the Canadian drone industry in particular.

The firms Scott has worked for include Brican Industries, Solar Ship, Penguin Automated Systems, SkyX, FIXAR, AlteX, DroneDJ, DJI, and USC-STC/Aerial Evolution Association of Canada (content and media advisor). He has collaborated with many others.

And he's always done so with a strong ethical compass.

Many in this industry have had their firm and milestones covered during Scott's 12 years in this sector. He's written well over 1500 stories; his popular SoundByte micro-podcast has featured many Canadian companies in the UAS space.

A lot of stories have been explanatory: Regulations, BVLOS flights, drone collisions with crewed aircraft, disaster and First Responder cases, UTM, Counter-UAS, student competitions, and transformative technologies including AAM.

AEAC leaders will know Scott not only as a journalist, but as a committed volunteer who has for many years done the demanding job of social media for the annual conference – work that elevated the public profile of the Association and its members.

When the opportunity came along to hire him, I did. He insisted he would stick to writing fact-based stories with no editorial interference. I agreed, and it's been hands-off ever since.

During his journalism career, Scott was the recipient of multiple prestigious awards, including the $100,000 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy – the country's highest honour for a reporter. Romeo Durscher nominated Scott for the "People's Choice" Airwards, saying he has made a significant, positive impact on the industry.

He has. And it's the perfect time to acknowledge that.