Hello, my name is Ben Lovegrove and in this video I'm going to briefly describe seven
of the 19th & 20th Century's aviation pioneers.
Some of the brightest and most daring personalities of the time, these seven early aviators managed
to do what to many was the unthinkable.
Many have wondered about their courage and the desire to explore despite the risks, to
push the boundaries and in so doing making discoveries that helped develop aviation.
These short introductions may inspire you to find out more about them.
Elinor Smith Sullivan, "The Flying Flapper of Freeport".
We start this list with an American aviator who was to become the test pilot for Airchild
and Bellanca.
One of the most prolific aviation figures of the 1920s, Elinor Smith set several aviation
records during her career.
She was youngest person ever to obtain a pilot's licence having started taking lessons when
she was just ten years old.
Her first flight was in a Farman pusher that took off from a potato patch near Hicksville,
Long Island.
And she went on to set endurance, speed, and altitude records.
Later in life she flew the Lockheed T-33 and in 2000 she become the oldest pilot to succeed
in a simulated Space Shuttle landing.
Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown.
Captain Eric Brown was a legendary figure who holds the record for testing the greatest
number of aircraft types - 487.
He also holds the record for the most landings on an aircraft carrier - 2,407.
He’s famous not only for his long career and records set but also because of his well-known,
self-described fearless spirit.
He served as a pilot during the World War Two and eventually ceased flying at the age
of 75.
But not before becoming the first pilot to make a twin engined deck landing and the first
jet engined deck landing.
John Arthur Macready.
As a flying instructor he wrote the first manual for student pilots, The All Thru System
of Flying Instructions.
He then went on to set some of the greatest records in aviation.
One of the most impressive is the 1921 altitude record when he reached an altitude of 34,509
feet.
In 1922 he set an airborne endurance record of 35 hours, 18 minutes and 30 seconds.
The following year he became the first to fly non-stop across the United States, and
in 1924 he became the first pilot to bail out of an aircraft at night.
Joseph A. Walker.
If there’s someone who literally pushed through the limits of the atmosphere, it has
got to be Joseph A. Walker.
He was the first pilot to reach an altitude of 351,050 feet and as the edge of the atmosphere
is 327,360 feet (about 62 miles) he is regarded as a pilot who became the first astronaut.
Tragically, Walker died in 1966 when his F-104 Starfighter collided with a North American
XB-70 Valkyrie.
Otto Lilienthal.
A real innovator for his time, he was an engineer by trade and one of the greatest aviation
pioneers of the 19th century.
Born in 1848, he was among the first to experiment successfully with gliders.
His studies and sketches are a fascinating record of early aviation.
With more than 2,000 glider flights during his career, he was nicknamed The Flying Man.
Unfortunately, his passion brought a tragic end to his life, when in 1896 he died after
a glider flight test.
One of his original gliders is today on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space
Museum.
Eugene Hoy Barksdale.
One of the earliest professional test pilots of the interbellum period, he and his navigator
set a distance record in 1924 by flying a DH-4B Liberty 400 on instruments only from
Ohio to New York state.
He is the author of a book on being a military test pilot called Flight Testing of Aircraft,
proof of his keen eye and methodical methods.
His career was also cut short by a tragic accident, when his parachute lines were severed
while bailing out of a Douglas O-2.
Hanna Reitsch.
One of Germany’s most prolific World War Two test pilots, Hanna Reitsch’s name has
made history.
A controversial character, at 14 she wanted to be a flying missionary doctor in Africa.
But instead, Hanna was to become the only female civilian test pilot of the Luftwaffe.
Her story though changes abruptly after the war ends, with Hanna becoming a national hero
in Ghana, all due to her establishing one of sub-Saharan Africa’s first flying schools.
These are just a few of the aviation pioneers who have pushed the envelope and contributed
to the pool of knowledge.
Which aviators would you like to know more about?
Subscribe to my channel by clicking the button below and let me know who you would like to
know more about by posting a comment.
Happy Landings!