Aviator

Aviators are people who fly aircraft either for pleasure or for a job. The term is normally applied to pilots but it can be applied more broadly, for example to include people such as wing-walkers who regularly take part in an aerobatic display sequence. The term was more commonly used in the early days of flying and has connotations of bravery and adventure. As Steve Fossett has shown with his recent (2002) solo flight around the globe in a helium balloon, there are still challenges to be flown and records to be broken.

Famous aviators include:

• Louis Bleriot
• George Cayley
• Amelia Earhart
• Louise Thaden
• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• Roland Garros
• Amy Johnson
• Charles Lindbergh
• Ormer Locklear
• Eddie Rickenbacker
• Charles Kingsford Smith
• Orville and Wilbur Wright
• Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi
• Milo Burcham
• Charles Stewart Rolls
• Nevil Shute
• Richard Branson
• Geoffrey de Havilland
• Claudius Dornier
• Anthony Fokker
• Ernst Heinkel
• Hugo Junkers
• Montgolfier Brothers
• Richard Pearse
• Kurt Tank

The requirements to obtain a private pilot certificate (single engine land aircraft) in the United States (from the FAA) are:

• Be at least 17 years old
• Be able to read, speak, and write the English language
• Obtain a third class medical certificate from an FAA-designated doctor
• Pass a computerized aeronautical knowledge test
• Accumulate at least 40 hours of flight time including 20 hours of flight with an instructor and 10 hours of solo flight
• Pass a flight test administered by an FAA-designated examiner

See also: List of aerospace engineers