15 December 2006
Intrepid aviator Steve Fossett is to be inducted into the US National Aviation Hall of Fame as part of the “Class of 2007”. The announcement will be made tonight at the Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio – during the annual First Flight dinner. The announcement will be made by Joe Kittinger (who featured in <b><i>FLYER</i></b>’s October 2005 issue).
Fossett holds many records and aviation achievements, in balloons, gliders, airships and powered aircraft. Earlier this year in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer he set the Absolute Non-Stop Distance Record for any aircraft (February 2006) and the Absolute Closed Circuit Distance Record (March 2006); he also set the world glider altitude record in August, with co-pilot Einar Enevoldson.
Also in this year’s inductee list are:
Walter Boyne, former Director of the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum;
Evelyn Bryan Johnson, a flight instructor who has logged more flight hours, trained more pilots, and given more FAA exams than any other pilot; Sally K. Ride, America’s first woman in space aboard NASA’s STS-7 Shuttle mission;
and Frederick W. Smith, a former USMC combat pilot and innovative founder of FedEx, the global transportation, business services and logistics company.
Inductions will take place next July.
