General

While all of these people were pilots (and some still are), many are also noted for contributions in areas such as aircraft design and manufacturing, navigation or popularization.

A

• Bert Acosta

• Saarah Hameed Ahmed

• John Alcock

• Buzz Aldrin

• Scott Anderson

• Gaby Angelini

• Kimberly Anyadike

• Neil Armstrong

• Ludovic Arrachart

• Jacqueline Auriol

B

• Douglas Bader

• Richard Bach

• Italo Balbo

• Bernt Balchen

• Mike Bannister

• Pancho Barnes

• João Ribeiro de Barros

• Jean Batten

• André Beaumont

• Amelie Beese

• Elly Beinhorn

• Jean-Pierre Blanchard

• Lilian Bland

• Louis Blériot

• John Nicolaas Block

• William Boeing

• Arthur Whitten Brown

• Miles Browning

• Mrs Victor Bruce

• Milo Burcham

• Beverly Lynn Burns

• Richard Byrd

C

• Artur de Sacadura Cabral

• Don Cameron

• George Cayley

• Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi

• Lagâri Hasan Çelebi

• Clyde Cessna

• Touria Chaoui

• Francis Chichester

• Juan de la Cierva

• Henri Coandă

• Jerrie Cobb

• Sir Alan Cobham

• Jackie Cochran

• George Bertram Cockburn

• Bessie Coleman

• François Coli

• Carmela Combe

• Jean Louis Conneau

• Joseph Costa

• Max Conrad

• Dieudonné Costes

• Marcel Courmes

• Gago Coutinho

• Jessica Cox

• Henry Coxwell

• Albert Scott Crossfield

• Glenn Curtiss

• Sharifah Czarena

D

• Steponas Darius

• Aida de Acosta

• B. H. DeLay

• Jurgis Dobkevičius

• Jimmy Doolittle

• Claudius Dornier

• Donald Douglas

• Douglas Douglas-Hamilton

• Neville Duke

• Hélène Dutrieu

E

• Amelia Earhart

• Eugene Burton Ely

F

• Craig Ferguson

• Henri Farman

• Charles Fern

• Anthony Fokker

• Steve Fossett

• Ramón Franco

G

• Ernest K Gann

• Roland Garros

• Viola Gentry

• Dagoberto Godoy

• Sabiha Gökçen

• Mike Goulian

• Marlon Green

• Henri Guillaumet

• Bartolomeu de Gusmão

• Antanas Gustaitis

H

• Geoffrey de Havilland

• Mary, Lady Heath

• Ernst Heinkel

• Alex Henshaw

• Hilda Hewlett

• Bert Hinkler

• Bob Hoover

• Howard Hughes

I

• Abbas Ibn Firnas

• Max Immelmann

J

• Tony Jannus

• Elrey Borge Jeppesen

• Jiro Horikoshi

• W. E. Johns

• Amy Johnson

• Evelyn Bryan Johnson

• Tex Johnston

• Hubert Julian

• Hugo Junkers

K

• Bettina Kadner

• Sir Charles Kingsford Smith

• Algene and Fred Key

• Vladimir Kokkinaki

• Opal Kunz

L

• Clay Lacy

• Raymonde de Laroche

• Ruth Bancroft Law

• Bill Lear

• Alfred LeBlanc

• Léon Lemartin

• Tony LeVier

• Otto Lilienthal

• Charles Lindbergh

• Per Lindstrand

• Alexander Lippisch

• John H. Livingston

• Ormer Locklear

M

• Eilmer of Malmesbury

• Paul Mantz

• Beryl Markham

• Angela Masson

• Wop May

• Esther Mbabazi

• Frederick McCall

• Marie McMillin

• Mike Melvill

• Jean Mermoz

• Russel Merrill

• Betty Miller

• Billy Mitchell

• R. J. Mitchell

• Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock

• Giribala Mohanty

• Charlotte Möhring

• Jim Mollison

• Montgolfier brothers

• John J. Montgomery

• Ed Musick

N

• Jorge Newbery

• Charles Nungesser

O

• Phoebe Omlie

P

• Clyde Pangborn

• John Lankester Parker

• Ivy May Pearce

• Percy Pilcher

• Francesco de Pinedo

• Albert Plesman

• Paul Poberezny

• Tom Poberezny

• Wiley Post

Q

• Jeffrey Quill

• Harriet Quimby

R

• Carol Rabadi

• Bessica Medlar Raiche

• Robert Campbell Reeve

• Molly Reilly

• Ruth Reinhold

• Hanna Reitsch

• Sally Ride

• Margaret Ringenberg

• Keith Rosenkranz

• Yves Rousseau

• Edvard Rusjan

• Mathias Rust

• Dick Rutan

S

• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

• Alberto Santos-Dumont

• Blanche Stuart Scott

• Sheila Scott

• Igor Sikorsky

• Elinor Smith

• Sir Ross Smith

• Sir Thomas Sopwith

• Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg

• Katherine Stinson

• John Stringfellow

• Chesley Sullenberger

T

• Kurt Tank

• Louise Thaden

• Bobbi Trout

• Sean D. Tucker

• Alia Twal

V

• Polly Vacher

• Traian Vuia

W

• Patty Wagstaff

• Emily Warner

• Erich Warsitz

• Arthur Whitten-Brown

• Frank Whittle

• Roger Q. Williams

• Zoey Williams

• Orville and Wilbur Wright

Y

• W.A. Yackey

• Lewis Yancey

• Chuck Yeager

• Jeana Yeager

• John Young

Z

• Bernard Ziegler

Military pilots

A

• Asli Hassan Abade

• Muhammad Mahmood Alam

• John Astle

B

• Richard Bach

• Douglas Bader

• Francesco Baracca

• Kristin Bass

• Arturo Merino Benítez

• Velta Benn

• Brian Binnie

• Mark Binskin

• Billy Bishop

• Richard Bong

• Robert Benedict Bourdillon

• John Boyd

• Pappy Boyington

• Eric Brown

• James E. Brown III

• Roy Brown

• Willa Brown

• Eugene Bullard

C

• Pierre Clostermann

• Stephen Coonts

• Chip Cravaack

D

• Benjamin O. Davis Jr.

• Jimmy Doolittle

F

• Joe Foss

G

• Yuri Gagarin

• Roland Garros

• Roy Geiger

• Jim Gibbons

• Guy Gibson

• Richard E. Gray

H

• Erich Hartmann

• Laurie Hawn

• Cedric Howell

• James W. Huston

J

• James Jabara

• James Denis

K

• Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell

L

• Clay Lacy

• Fred Ladd

• Tom Landry

• Hazel Ying Lee

• Lydia Litvyak

• Lee Lue

• Frank Luke

M

• Mike Mangold

• Edward "Mick" Mannock

• Charles McGee

• Karina Miranda

• Billy Mitchell

N

• Jorge Newbery

O

• Edward O'Hare

• Lola Odujinrin

• Robin Olds

• Shane Osborn

P

• Keith Park

R

• Hanna Reitsch

• Manfred von Richthofen

• Eddie Rickenbacker

• Harry Robinson

• Hans-Ulrich Rudel

S

• Linda Spoonster Schwartz

• Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon

• Brian Shul

• Denny Smith

• James Stewart

• Vang Sue

T

• Stephen W. Thompson

• Hugh Thompson Jr.

• Paul Tibbets

• Siyka Tsoncheva

V

• Valentina Tereshkova

• Werner Voss

W

• Douglas (Duke) Warren

• James White

Y

• W.A. Yackey

• Chuck Yeager

Z

• Fred Zinn

Other famous figures with an aviation history

The following is a list of notable people from various professions who are also pilots:

A

• Prince Andrew, Duke of York

• Carl Anthony, American actor

• James Arness, American actor

• David Ascalon, contemporary sculptor and stained glass artist; co-founder of Ascalon Studios

B

• Dierks Bentley, American country musician

• Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld

• Ryan Bittle, American actor

• Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013

• André Borschberg, Swiss businessman

• Richard Branson, chairman, Virgin Group

• Aaron Buerge, The Bachelor star

• Jimmy Buffett, American singer, songwriter, author, businessman

• Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian model

• George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States

• George W. Bush, eldest son of George H. W. Bush and 43rd President of the United States

• Rod Buskas, Canadian ice hockey player

C

• Maie Casey, Australian pioneer aviator, poet, librettist, biographer, memoirist and artist; wife of Richard Casey; Governor-General of Australia, 1969–74

• Kirby Chambliss, American aerobatics world champion

• Roy Clark, American musician

• Dave Coulier, American actor and comedian

• Tom Cruise, American actor

• Robert Cummings, American actor and aviator

D

• Roald Dahl, British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter

• Terry Deitz, American television personality

• Glen Dell, South African commercial airline trainer and aerobatics pilot

• John Denver, American country music/folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician

• Mukul Dev, Indian actor

• Bruce Dickinson, English singer, TV presenter, airline pilot

• Michael Dorn, American actor

• Billie Dove, American actress

• Jerry Doyle, American talk radio host, right-libertarian political commentator and television actor

• Jeff Dunham, American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian.

E

• Clint Eastwood, American actor, director

• Noel Edmonds, English television presenter and executive

• Carl Edwards, American NASCAR driver

• Hunter Ellis, American television personality

F

• Craig Ferguson, Scottish-American television host

• Harrison Ford, American actor

• Malcolm Forbes, hot air balloon pilot

• Morgan Freeman, American actor

G

• Lea Gabrielle, American fighter pilot turned journalist, Correspondent for Fox News Channel

• Rajiv Gandhi, prime minister of India 1984–1989, son of India's first female prime minister Indira Gandhi

• David Gilmour, English musician, best known as the guitarist, lead singer and one of the songwriters in the rock band Pink Floyd

• John Glenn, American astronaut and former Ohio senator

• Hermann Göring, German politician, military leader and a leading member of the Nazi party

• Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor

• Kirby Grant, Sky King

• Ken Griffey Jr., Major League Baseball 13-time All-Star

H

• Najeeb Halaby, Administrator of the United States Federal Aviation Administration and father of Queen Noor of Jordan

• Howard Hawks, American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era

• Alfred C. Haynes, American Speaker at social events

• Rudolf Hess, prominent figure in Nazi Germany

• Dexter Holland, singer and rhythm guitarist for the Californian punk pop band The Offspring

• Wil Horneff, American actor

• Harry Houdini, Hungarian-American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer

• Gary Hubler, Champion of the Reno Air Races

• Bruce Hyer, Canadian politician

J

• Angelina Jolie, American actress

• Bart Johnson, American actor

• Steve Jones, Red Bull Air Race World Series competitor

K

• Greg Kelly, American journalist; youngest son of NYPD commissioner Raymond Kelly; anchor of WNYW (Fox 5 New York)

• John F. Kennedy Jr., son of assassinated U. S. president John F. Kennedy

• John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State

• B. B. King, musician

• Kris Kristofferson, American writer, singer-songwriter, actor and musician

• Larry Kusche, American author

L

• Veronica Lake, American actress

• Lorenzo Lamas, American actor

• Cory Lidle, American baseball player

• Per Lindstrand

• Tom Logan, American director, writer, producer, acting instructor, and former actor

• Shane Lundgren, American aviator and commercial aviation businessman and entrepreneur

M

• William P. MacCracken Jr., First Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics

• Joe Manchin, United States Senator and Governor of West Virginia

• Dean Paul Martin, American singer and actor

• Soong Mei-ling, former first lady of China

• John McCain, senior U.S. Senator from Arizona, 2008 U.S. presidential candidate

• Richie McCaw, retired New Zealand rugby great, now working as a helicopter pilot in his homeland

• Jay McGraw, American writer

• Phil McGraw, American television personality; host of Dr. Phil

• Tim McGraw, American actor and musician

• Michael of Romania, the last King of Romania, and one of the last living leaders of World War II

• John Michels, American football player

• Arseny Mironov, Russian aerospace engineer and aviator, scientist in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing

• Paul Moyer, American journalist; veteran television news broadcaster in Southern California

• Thurman Munson, American baseball player

N

• Gary Numan, English singer, musician, composer, air display pilot, flying examiner

O

• Vivek Oberoi, Indian actor

• Miles O'Brien, American journalist; former CNN correspondent

• Susan Oliver, Emmy-nominated American actress, television director and aviator

P

• Arnold Palmer, late American champion golfer

• Fess Elisha Parker, American actor

• Jake Pavelka, reality TV personality

• Rick Perry, Texas Governor

• Brad Pitt, American actor

• Dave Price, American journalist, Anchor of WNYW (Fox 5 New York), anchor of Good Day New York

• Michael D. Protack, American businessman and candidate for Governor of Delaware

Q

• Dennis Quaid, American actor

R

• Lars Rådeström, Swedish fighter aircraft test pilot

• Kangana Ranaut, Indian actress

• Katherine Rawls, multiple United States national champion in swimming and diving in the 1930s

• Christopher Reeve, American actor, director, producer and writer

• Earl W. Renfroe, history maker in the field of orthodontics and in breaking down the barriers of racism

• Rob Riggle, American actor and comedian

• James A. Rice, American attorney, judge, and politician

• Cliff Robertson, American actor

• Ed Robertson, Canadian musician

• Stephen Rogers, Canadian politician

• Charles Rolls, British aviation pioneer

• Kurt Russell, American actor

S

• Chuck Scarborough, American journalist; veteran television news anchor for WNBC (Channel 4 New York)

• Carlo Schmid, youngest solo pilot to fly around the world

• Jon Scott, American journalist, anchor for Fox News channel

• Al Secord, former NHL player

• Ryan Shore, Grammy and Emmy Award-nominated composer for film, television, games, theater and records

• Nevil Shute, popular British novelist; successful aeronautical engineer

• Dean Smith, American pioneer pilot

• James Stewart, popular American actor

T

• J. R. D. Tata, Indian industrialist

• Ratan Naval Tata, Indian industrialist

• Norman Tebbit, British Conservative politician

• John Travolta, American actor

• Ariel Tweto, one of two daughters of the Alaska airline family

U

• Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

V

• Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, essayist, short story writer, actor and politician

• Mike Vogel, American actor

• Pavel Vlasov, Russian test pilot, Hero of the Russian Federation

• Igor Volk, Soviet test pilot, cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union

W

• Bonny Warner, American luger

• Frank Welker, American actor, best known for the thousands of voices he performs in television and films including Freddie in Scooby-Doo and Megatron in the Transformers franchise.

• Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

• Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, King of the Netherlands and part-time KLM pilot

• Alverna Babbs Williams, First American pilot with disabilities to earn a pilot's license

• Ted Williams, left fielder in Major League Baseball

See also

• List of Russian aviators

• List of women aviators

References

External links

• Database of notable aviators with photos