AIC Title Service
will manage the escrow -
the $5 Million World Sky Race Prize
By Marie Pohl
Houston, TX – August 10, 2025 - The World Air League is proud to announce its collaboration with AIC Title Service. AIC will be the escrow agent for $5,000,000 World Sky Race Prize. AIC Title Service is one the most trusted aviation title and escrow service providers in the country. This financial structure will enable and facilitate raising the World Sky Race Prize. Protecting the funding partners and sponsors of the World Sky Race, the Prize monies will be held in escrow, safeguarded by AIC, until the Race Champion claims their crown and trophy.
“A big part of what we do at AIC is providing independent escrows,” said Bruce Marshall, Vice President and General Counsel of AIC. “We act as an independent party and hold funds. We hold deposits on aircraft transactions, while they’re pending closing.”
Each year AIC handles billions of dollars in deposits for aircraft transactions, only releasing them when the deals are finalized. For the World Sky Race, AIC will serve as the neutral stakeholder, releasing the prize to the rightful winner and registering the title of World Sky Champion.
In 2024 alone, AIC facilitated around $6 billion in aircraft transactions, closing around 6000 deals, conducting more than 15,000 title searches, and filing documents with both the FAA Registry and the International Registry in Ireland.
The partnership is a natural fit—rooted in shared expertise and a passion for aviation. Clay Healey, Owner of AIC Title Service, has been flying since childhood. In a video on the company’s website, he recalls posing as a boy in a Superman suit next to his family’s Cessna 337 on their ranch’s gravel runway, thinking that flying was “the coolest thing in the world.”
“So, aviation is not just my job, it’s my passion. I love to fly. I love getting in the air. I absolutely enjoy it more than just about anything,” Healey said.
This passion is shared by Bruce Marshall, AIC Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Marshall's father was a WWII pilot flying C-47 transport missions in the South Pacific. Marshall remembers moving to Detroit with his family when he was nine years old, and while his friends were building model cars, he was building model airplanes. His career in aviation law has spanned major roles at Flexjet and Bombardier, including unusual assignments like transporting a gorilla between zoos and rushing transplant surgeons—carrying donor hearts—to hospitals.
Marshall first met Don Hartsell, Commissioner of the World Air League, in 2015 through a book club called Sapientia (Latin for “quest for knowledge”). Since then, he’s followed the Race’s evolution, particularly the addition of Sky Games—city-based races with their own prizes in addition to the global circumnavigation race. Airships, Marshall said, have been “around for decades but people haven't really exploited the technology yet… And they can really land anywhere without needing all that infrastructure."
Hartsell sees the partnership as a cornerstone for the event’s credibility: “We are pleased and thankful for AIC Title Service providing their specialized capabilities and financial strengths to the creation of the World Sky Race. Together, we can make a difference—not a small one, but one that challenges the next generation to explore, innovate, and find the means to thrive.”
The World Sky Race 2028–2029 will be a 17-race global series of airship rallies circling the planet and flying over the homes of more than two billion people. The winner will claim the $5,000,000 prize—secured and safeguarded by AIC Title Service.
Do you want to know more? communications@worldskyrace.com
About the World Air League
The World Air League is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of explorers, innovators, and problem-solvers through high-profile global events that showcase sustainable aviation technologies. Learn more.
About AIC Title Service
AIC Title Service is the largest aviation title and escrow provider in North America, handling billions of dollars in transactions annually while delivering unmatched expertise and security for the global aviation industry. Learn more.