Source: norbay.com
Below is a list of pioneer aviators from around the world for whom airports have been named as an honor to their courageous achievements. Sadly, in some instances, the name of the pioneering aviator has been removed from the airport name or has been downgraded to secondary status. Not included are airports named for strictly military pilots unless that was secondary to their non-military contributions to aviation.
Jacqueline Cochran – Source: pinterest.com
If it weren’t for these brave pioneers, aviation may not have grown so exponentially in the past century. In addition, airports with names like Kingsford Smith International Airport sound much more interesting and historically appropriate than Sydney International Airport. Besides, which Sydney does the name refer to – Australia, Nova Scotia, or British Columbia? As always, any additions, updates, or corrections are most welcome. Cheers!
Sir Charles Kingsford Smith – Source: en.wikipedia.org
AVIATOR AIRPORT LOCATION REASON FOR HONOR
- Walter Beech – Beech Factory Airport: Wichita, Kansas – pilot starting in 1905 and founder of Beech Aircraft
- Giuseppe Mario Bellanca – Bellanca Airfield (closed): Wilmington (New Castle), Delaware – operated an early flying school, developed the first enclosed cabin monoplane in 1922, and founded Bellanca Aircraft
- William E. Boeing – Boeing Field: Seattle, Washington – founder of Boeing Corporation
- Clyde Cessna – Cessna Factory Airport – Wichita, Kansas – pilot and founder of Cessna Aircraft
- Jorge Chavez – Jorge Chávez International Airport: Lima, Peru – achieved early aeronautical feats, but died in 1910 attempting first air crossing of the Alps
- Henri Coandă – Henri Coandă International Airport: Bucharest, Romania – inventor and experimental aircraft bulder
- Jacqueline Cochran – Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport: Thermal, California – gifted racing pilot and helped found the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC)
- Marcel Dassault – Châteauroux-Déols “Marcel Dassault” Airport: Chateauroux, France – aircraft industrialist
- Camilo Daza – Camilo Daza International Airport: Cucuta, Colombia – first Colombian pilot
- Alberto Santos-Dumont – Santos Dumont Airport: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – built and designed the first practical dirigible
- Amelia Earhart – Amelia Earhart Airport: Atchison, Kansas – many records including first female to fly solo nonstop over the Atlantic Ocean in 1932 and first solo nonstop flight from Hawaii to California in 1935
- Ben Epps – Athens-Ben Epps Airport: Athens, Georgia – first aviator in the state
- August Euler – August Euler Flugplatz: Darmstadt, Germany – first German pilot and founder of first airfield and airplane factory at this location
- Roland Garros – Roland_Garros_Airport – Saint Denis, France – early aviator and race pilot
- Howard Hughes – Hughes Airport (closed): Los Angeles, California – world air speed record holder and founder of Hughes Aircraft
- Albert Bond Lambert – Lambert-St. Louis International Airport: St. Louis, Missouri – founder of the St. Louis Aero Club, bought his first plane from the Wright Brothers, and took his flying lessons from Orville Wright
- Charles Lindbergh – San Diego International Airport/Lindbergh Field: San Diego, California – first nonstop solo flight over the Atlantic Ocean in 1927
- Glenn L. Martin – Martin State Airport: Baltimore (Little River), Maryland – held flying records and founded Glenn L. Martin Company which became part of Lockheed-Martin Aerospace
- Merrill C. Meigs – Meigs Field (closed): Chicago Illinois – booster of Chicago aviation and taught President Truman how to fly
- Russell Merrill – Merrill Field: Anchorage, Alaska – many firsts in Alaskan bush pilot aviation
- John J. Montgomery – Montgomery Field: San Diego, California – invented controlled gliders
- Bert Mooney – Bert Mooney Airport: Butte Montana – first air mail pilot to Yellowstone National Park in 1935
- Jorge Newbery – Aeroparque Jorge Newbery: Buenos Aires, Argentina – early South american pilot and record holder, as well as founder of the Argentine Air Force
- Clyde Edward Pangborn – Pangborn Memorial Airport: Wenatchee, Washington – first person to fly nonstop over the Pacific Ocean in 1931
- Silvio Pettirossi – Silvio Pettirossi International Airport: Asunción, Paraguay – aviation pioneer and record holder who was taught to fly by Jorge Newbery (see above)
- William T. Piper – William_T._Piper_Memorial_Airport: Lock Haven, PA – founder of Piper Aircraft
- Wiley Post – Wiley Post Airport: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – first pilot to fly solo around the world
- Sabiha Gokcen – Sabiha Gokcen International Airport: Istanbul, Turkey – five-day flight around the Balkans in 1938, flight instructor and first female Turkish fighter pilot
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery – Saint-Exupery International Airport: Lyon, France – pioneer of international postal flights
- Igor Sikorsky – Igor Sikorsky Memorial Airport: Bridgeport (Stratford), Connecticut – designer of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters – founded Sikorsky Aircraft
- Sir Charles Kingsford Smith – Sydney/Kingsford Smith International Airport – Sydney, Australia – holds many records including the first Trans-Pacific flight from the USA to Australia and first nonstop flight across Australia
- Aurel Vlaicu – Aurel Vlaicu International Airport: Bucharest, Romania – aircraft builder, designer, and early pilot
- Traian Vuia – Traian Vuia International Airport: Timisoara, Romania – designed, built, and tested a tractor configuration monoplane in 1906
- Jorge Wilstermann – Jorge Wilstermann International Airport: Cochabamba, Bolivia – nation’s first civilian aviator
- Orville and Wilbur Wright – Dayton/Wright Brothers Airport: Dayton (Miamisburg), Ohio
SOURCES: en.wikipedia.org and others provided through weblinks above.
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