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Sir George Cayley
Name: Sir George Cayley (December 27, 1773 –
December 15, 1857) Nationality: British Fields: Aviation, Aerodynamics, Aeronautics,
Aeronautical Engineering Contribution: Designed first successful human glider
Discovered the four aerodynamic forces of flight
(weight, lift, drag, thrust) and cambered wings,
basis for the design of modern planes. -
Montgolfier Brothers
Name: Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (26 August 1740 – 26
June 1810)
Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (6 January 1745 – 2
August 1799) Nationality: French Aircraft: Montgolfière style hot air balloon, globe
aérostatique Contributions: Invented the Montgolfière style hot air
balloon, globe aérostatique
Launched the first successful manned flight -
Otto Lilienthal
Name: Otto Lilienthal (May 23, 1848-August 10, 1896)
Occupation: Engineer
Nationality: German, Prussian
Contribution: First person to make well-documented, repeated, successful gliding flights -
Louis Bleriot
Name: Louis Blériot (1 July 1872 – 2 August 1936)
Nationality: French
Occupation: Aviator, inventor and engineer
Contributions: Completed the first flight over a large body of water in a heavier than air aircraft. First person to make a monoplane -
Charles Kingsford Smith
Name: Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (9 February 1897 – 8 November 1935) Nationality: Australian Awards: Knight Bachelor, Military Cross, Air Force Cross Contribution: First trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia (1928)
First non-stop crossing of the Australian mainland
First flights between Australia and New Zealand
First eastward Pacific crossing from Australia to the United States
Set a new record of 10.5 days flying from Australia to London -
Amelia Earhart
Name: Amelia Mary Earhart (born July 24, 1897; missing July 2, 1937; declared legally dead January 5, 1939)
Nationality: American
Aircraft: second-hand bright yellow KinnerAirster biplane which she nicknamed "The Canary."
A second hand bright yellow Kinner Airster biblane which she nicknamed “The Canary.”
Occupation: Aviator and record breaker, nurse during the world war
Contributions: First women to fly solo over the Atlantic. Various other flight records. -
Charles Lindbergh
Name: Charles Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) Nationality: American Contribution: Flew in the single-seat, single-engine
monoplane Spirit of St. Louis non-stop on
May 20–21, 1927, from Roosevelt Field located in Garden City on New York's Long Island to Le Bourget Field in Paris, France, a distance of nearly 3,600 statute miles. Awards: Medal of Honour, Congressional Gold Medal, Pulitzer Prize, Orteig Prize -
Amy Johnson
Name: Amy Johnson (1 July 1903 – 5 January 1941)
Nationality: English
Occupation: Aviatrix, first officer ATS
Aircraft: second-hand de Havilland Gipsy Moth she named "Jason"
Contributions/famous for: In 1930, she became the first woman to fly solo from Britain, to Australia. on July 1931, Johnson and her co-pilot Jack Humphreys became the first pilots to fly from London to Moscow in one day. First British woman to obtain a ground engineer's 'C' licence. Many other records. -
Frank Whittle
Name: Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996)
Nationality: British
Occupation: British RAF officer
Contributions: invented the jet engine in 1932 -
Chuck Yeager
Name: Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager (born February 13, 1923)
Nationality: United States
In service: September 12, 1941 – March 1, 1975
Awards: distinguished Service medal (2), silver star (2), distinguished flying cross (3), legion of merit (2), bronze star, purple heart, presidential medal of freedom, congressional silver medal.
Occupation: Test pilot after the war
Contributions: first pilot to travel faster than sound (1947), set a new flight record of Mach 2.44 -
Enola Gay
Name: Enola Gay Nationality: American In Service: 18 May 1945 - 24 July 1946 Aircraft: B-29 Superfortress Bomber Contribution: Dropped the first atomic Bomb (Little Boy) on
Hiroshima, Japan Pilot: Colonel Paul Tibbets -
The Hughes H-4 Hercules ‘Spruce Goose’
Inventor: built by the Hughes Occupation company
Famous for: made its only flight on November 2, 1947. Largest flying boat ever.
Crew: 3
Length: 218 ft 8 in (66.65 m)
Wingspan: 320 ft 11 in (97.54 m)
Height: 79 ft 4 in (24.18 m)
