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As far back as he can remember, Andy has been interested in aircraft. By the age of seven, he was building balsa, rubber band propelled model aircraft and reading all the books a young person could find on flying.

When he was eight, he had his first flight in a barnstorming itinerant aircraft, and from then on he had a passionate interest in aviation. He clipped articles and pictures from newspapers and magazines to be pasted into scrap books, and he was able to recognize any aircraft that existed at that time.

At seventeen, he earned his first full- time employment check, part of which was invested in his first flying lesson. He soloed later that year, but unfortunately moved to a town that had no flying club. However, that did not hold him back. He segued into sport parachuting at 19, and developed a passion for the sport which lasted for the next 20 years.

During that time he became one of Australia's pioneer skydivers. He was, with his jump partner, the first Australian to successfully make contact in freefall (relative work). He became a senior as well as chief instructor, national champion parachutist and held the first two expert parachutist licences issued to an Australian (E1 and F1). He competed at a world competition in Germany and was the top scorer on his team.

Andy came to the US around this time and continued skydiving, but also resumed flying lessons. He became one of the world’s top free fall photographers, and produced three books on skydiving. He had assignments with Sports Illustrated, TIME magazine, the London Times and other publications, which took him to africa, Europe and the Pacific as well as all over the United States.

Andy built and jumped his own parachute, and was the first freefall photographer to transition on to the moder, high performance ram air parachutes. He was one of the small handful of skydivers to dive off El Capitan in the Yosemite Valley. His El Cap number is 83 (83rd person to free fall down that cliff face). He organized the visit to, and jumped, in China as still photographer on the US Skydiving team in 1980.

His work hung in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington DC, and he was honored with the Master of Sport award by the Australian Parachute Association in recognition of his international achievements.While accomplishing the above, he also earned the following certificates and ratings: senior parachute rigger, commercial, single engine, multi-engine, instrument, rotorcraft, helicopter and gyroplane.

He built and flew an ultralight, and repaired a wrecked light aircraft which became his private plane. He also few jump aircraft, gliders, tow planes, helicopters and autogyros.

However, it was the world of autogyros that began to fascinate him and eventually Andy decided to build a new design gyroplane, the Little Wing Autogyro. He worked with Ron Herron, an airframe and powerplant mechanic, instructor, designer to build a light, high-performance, safe aircraft, which he called 'Woodstock’. The collaboration took five-years. .

In October 2003, Andy flew Woodstock across the U.S. and back, resetting three trans-continental speed records. Then, in February 2004 he set a new world distance record of 617 miles, and in May, a new altitude (26,408’) and time to climb world records. The LW-5 is unique. It is the only aircraft to ever hold records in all parameters of performance...speed, distance, climb and altitude. Andy now looks forward to setting further world record.

The Wiley Post Commission believes that Andy Keech meets all the criteria for the ‘Wiley Post Spirit Award’ by best exhibiting the engineering and innovative pioneering legacy of Wiley Post.

A formal banquet was held for Mr. Keech and Woodstock, at the Servicenter FBO at Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City, January 28.