Beckley native to receive Emmy for advancement of drone cinematography technology - Beckley Register-Herald

Beckley native John McGraw will be awarded a Technology & Engineering Emmy by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

The award is in recognition for his contributions to the advancement of drone cinematography technology. The award is a prestigious, industry-first Emmy® Award given in recognition by the National Awards Committee’s Technology and Engineering Achievement Committee and will be presented April 8, 2018, at the National Association of Broadcasters Conference in Las Vegas, the world’s largest event focused on the intersection of media and technology.

McGraw, along with seven other companies and the Motion Picture Association of America, pioneered the development of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) safety standards for the initial Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations for commercial drone use on closed film sets in 2014.

McGraw is the son of Virginia McGraw of Beckley and the late Walter G. McGraw, he is the founder and principal of John McGraw Aerospace Consulting (JMAC) LLC. The company offers expertise that encompasses and connects multiple aerospace disciplines. 

“This is an exceptional honor to be recognized by the NATAS,” McGraw commented. “I am humbled and excited. It was a great privilege to work with such an elite team of companies in this groundbreaking area of cinematography.”

Robert Seidel, chairman of the Technology & Engineering Achievement Committee, said, “We award the Technology and Engineering Emmy Award to companies such as John McGraw Aerospace Consulting that are the ‘tool makers’ of the industry who have materially affected the television viewing experience.”

Prior to forming the company, McGraw served as deputy director of the FAA’s Flight Standards Service from November 2008 until his retirement in March 2012.

Before entering the FAA, McGraw served as a test director/test pilot for the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center and as a flight test engineer for the U.S. Navy Rotary Wing Test Directorate at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River. McGraw has over 44 years of aviation experience, including 13 years of flight test.  

He served 24 years in the U.S. Army and is a U.S. Army master aviator. In 1984, he graduated cum laude from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University with a Bachelor of Professional Aeronautics degree, and in 1987, he graduated with high honors from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering degree. He is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School.

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