Our recently launched gallery Flying Magazine’s “51 Heroes of Aviation” has been a runaway success, but it has not been without controversy. A number of readers have weighed in that we had left off their choice of most inspirational aviation figure — we can’t name names for fear of spoiling the gallery for those of you have not yet seen it. We have not yet had a single negative comment on the figure we chose to be our most inspirational hero in aviation history. Frankly, we think we nailed it. Decide for yourself, however, and let us know if you think we were right or wrong.
In terms of leaving off important heroes, how do we respond? Guilty as charged. The process of creating our list of 51 (the number 51 is significant here) heroes opened our eyes to the fact that in the relatively short history of flight there are many, many figures who set themselves apart in ways that often defy easy description. Again, see for yourself.
While we couldn’t include every inspirational figure and certainly left off a number of deserving individuals and teams (hint, hint), we believe we got the mix just right. These heroes come in every description imaginable. One thing they share in common is that every one of them made our flying world richer in some important way.
Especially the guy in the number one slot. As I said, we nailed it.
View our 51 Heroes of Aviation photo gallery here.
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