Amelia Earhart, fondly known as "Lady Lindy," was an American aviatrix who was the 16th woman to be issued a pilot's license. She had several notable flights, including being the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, in 1928, as well as being the first person to fly over both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Earhart and her navigator mysteriously disappeared in 1937 while trying to circumnavigate the globe along the equator. 

John Glenn, who served four terms as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, was one of NASA's original seven Mercury astronauts. His flight in Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962, showed the world that America was a serious contender in the space race with the Soviet Union. It also made him an instant hero.

Movie stunt flyer Arthur C. Goebel flew a yellow and blue Travelair monoplane in the 1927 Dole Air Derby, with Navy Lt. William V. Davis as his navigator. They flew a great circle route from California to Hawaii. Goebel and his navigator were first to arrive at Wheeler Field, winning the event after a 26-hour, 17 minute, 33 second flight.

Although Bob Hope himself was not an aviator, he was a British-born American movie actor and comedian known for his jokes and one-liners. But most importantly, he was greatly admired for his decades of overseas tours to entertain American troops – and aviators.

“Babe” Kaleski was an aerial stunt performer and wingwalker.

John W. Knebel received his commercial pilot's license at age 19. He earned a B.A. degree in meteorology at San Diego State University in 1954. He graduated from the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School in 1957 and carrier qualified aboard the Navy carrier USS Saipan, also in 1957. He flew 15 years as a test pilot for Convair San Diego and retired in 1965. Don Germerand and Knebel hold the trans-continental speed record of 6 hours for seaplanes, set on February 24, 1955, in a CV-R3Y Tradewind. 

Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., is known as the first aviator to complete a solo transatlantic flight, which he did in 1927 in his Ryan-built plane, the Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh studied mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin before leaving to pursue his interest in flight. He became a barnstormer, or daredevil pilot, performing at fairs and other events. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1924 and trained as an Army Air Service Reserve pilot. He later worked as an airmail pilot. Lindbergh made his solo transatlantic flight to attempt to win a $25,000 prize offered to the first pilot to fly from New York to Paris without making any stops.

From 1953 through 1957, Billy Jack “B.J.” Long was an engineering test pilot for Convair in San Diego, California. He was project engineering test pilot on the Navy's F2Y Seadart, a unique seaplane jet fighter aircraft that rode on hydro-skis for takeoff and landing. It was created in the 1950s and never entered mass production. It was the only seaplane to have exceeded the speed of sound during test runs.

Chester W. Nimitz was the leading U.S. Navy authority on submarines. He saw the conversion of these vessels' propulsion from gasoline to diesel, and later was key in acquiring approval to build the world's first nuclear powered submarine. During World War II, Nimitz was Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. A brilliant strategist, he commanded all land and sea forces in the Central Pacific.

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