Top 10 Famous Aviators In History

Entertaining and educational top 10 lists from TopTenzNet!

Other TopTenz Videos:

Top 10 Greatest Asian Rulers Of All Time

Top 10 Important Feats Accomplished By Unimportant Presidents

Coming up:

10. Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier (1754-1785) and the Montgolfier Brothers
9. Louis Bleriot (1872-1936)
8. Baron Manfred Von Richthoven (1892-1918)
7. John Glenn (1921-)
6. Chuck Yeager (1923-)
5. Jimmy Doolittle (1896-1993)
4. Steve Fossett (1944-2007)
3. The Wright Brothers (Wilbur, 1867-1912, and Orville, 1871-1948)
2. Amelia Earhart (1897-1937)
1. Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974)

Source/Further reading:

[LePrince]

Alberto Santos-Dumont, Alcock and Brown, Amy Johnson, Eddie Rickenbacker, there is room for a second "top" 10.

[stflaw]

5:20 Yaeger wasn't selected for the space program because NASA required that all astronauts have colleges degrees, something Yaeger didn't have.

[southron_d]

No mention of John Alcock and Arthur Brown? Nor Charles Kingsford Smith?

[AustrianLowlife]

Google said that simon is dead since 2005.

It must be simons GHOST

[currykingwurst]

Hey, just fyi. In the description it says the following: "7. John Glenn (1921-)" but John Glenn passed away in 2016.

[samsen]

Great find as always. Love your channel.

[sojiokita]

Burt Hinkler, Charles Kingsfordsmith??

[samsen]

LOVE 3:40 in all accounts. One the most humble, charming, caring men of wisdom, knowledge & courage. RIP.

[annettefournier]

Wow, Wilbur died so much younger than Orville.

[johnopalko]

John Glenn's spacecraft was named Friendship 7.
Freedom 7 was Alan Shepard's.

[seabeans]

Does anyone else hear the static or the heavy breathing in the background of the video?

[WAL_DC-B]

How 'bout Douglas, "wrong way, " Corrigan? In 1937, while supposedly attempting to fly from New York to California, he instead "accidentally" flew his beat up, modified, single engine 1929 Curtiss Robin east across the Atlantic ocean to Ireland. Upon returning to New York by steamship, he soon after received a huge ticker tape parade that supposedly was larger than what was given to the number one aviator here, Charles A. Lindbergh, in 1927. His feat is considered amazing in that Corrigan's aircraft was purchased used for $900.00 and was in such bad condition he was forbidden by the American government from flying the Atlantic ocean to Ireland. In comparison, Lindbergh had a well built and well funded aircraft that was designed from the ground up to fly the Atlantic. Fun fact: Douglas Corrigan was employed by Ryan aircraft of San Diego, CA in the 1920s and helped build Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" monoplane.

[MitchBurns]

I'm surprised you didn't even mention how Charles Lindbergh had a kid mysteriously disappear. I know it doesn't have anything to do with aviation, but the guy was #1 on your list, and that is a major controversy since a lot of people suspect he had something to do with it.

[wemustconfrontrealitynow]

Two unbelievable omissions from the top 5: Lindbergh was probably the most famous, because he was the leading American aviator, but he considered the first crossing of the Pacific, May 31 - June 9, 1928, by Charles Kingsford-Smith, and his crew, Ulm, Lyon and Warner, a far more significant achievement than his own Atlantic flight. Smithy's fame at the time approximately equalled Lindbergh's. Certainly, Smithy was the better pilot. His landings at Albert Park, Suva, and later at 'Coffee Royal' attest to that. Also, how could Neil Armstrong possibly be omitted? First moon landing, first docking of two space vehicles, and flew the X-15 seven times, and likely would have made more X-15 flights if not chosen as an astronaut in 1962. And furthermore, in reference to Lindbergh, Richard Hauptmann was innocent.

[djdarbary]

Nice one, Simon. Expecting a follow-up Real Soon Now, with the likes of Sir George Cayley, Allcock & Whitten-Brown &, best of all, Douglas "Wrong-Way" Corrigan.

Keep 'em comin'.👍🍀

[coachmcguirk]

Oh I know!! We have Kyoshi, Roku, Aang, Korra... Aww I think I clicked on the wrong video. Aviators?! Fml

[charlienavarr]

What happened to the captions? Stop being lazy and cutting corners guys, you're better than that! Don't get complacent. Once you stop expecting the best (from yourselves especially), you'll begin accepting and achieving substandard results

[Hokipokiu]

The first flight was by a twenty-five year old New Zealander,  Richard Pearse on March 31, 1902.

[guyorsini]

No mention of Geraldine "Jeri" Mock, first woman to successfully fly around the world solo? She did it in 1965 in a Cessna 150.

[UnchainedAmerica]

Earhart's death should be a question mark 1937? You forgot Leonardo Da Vinci.