This is a list of notable aerospace engineers, people who were trained in or practiced aerospace engineering and design. __NOTOC__

A

Gerd Achgelis Gerd Achgelis (16 July 1908 – 18 May 1991) was a German aviator, test pilot, and pioneer in the development of helicopters. Biography Achgelis was born in Golzwarden in Oldenburg, and after an apprenticeship as an electrician, began working ...

(1908–1991) – helicopter pioneer *

Jakob Ackeret Jakob Ackeret, FRAeS (17 March 1898 – 27 March 1981) was a Swiss aeronautical engineer. He is widely viewed as one of the foremost aeronautics experts of the 20th century. Birth and education Jakob Ackeret was born in 1898 in Switzerland. He ...

(1898–1981) *

Bruce Aikenhead Bruce Alexander Aikenhead, OC (September 22, 1923 – August 5, 2019) was a Canadian aerospace engineer and physicist. Aikenhead was widely regarded as a major pioneer in the Canadian aerospace industry, who was the deputy program director for the ...

(1923–2019) – Avro Canada,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...

(born 1930) – astronaut, mechanical engineer and second person to walk on the moon *

Rostislav Alexeyev Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeyev (russian: Ростисла́в Евге́ньевич Алексе́ев; December 18, 1916 – February 9, 1980) was a Russian Soviet Director & Chief of Design known for his pioneering work on hydrofoil ships and ...

(1916–1980) – ground effect vehicle designer *

Edmund T. Allen Edmund Turney Allen (January 4, 1896 – February 18, 1943) was a pioneer of modern flight test who flew for nearly every major American aircraft manufacturer and took some of the most famous planes of all time up for their first flights. Early ...

(1896–1943) – engineer, test pilot * Harry Julian Allen (1910–1977) – NASA, inventor of blunt body re-entry vehicles * (1917–1993) * Oleg Antonov (1906–1984) – founder of the Antonov design bureau * Neil Armstrong (1930–2012) – astronaut, aeronautical engineer and first person to walk on the moon *

Yuri Artsutanov Yuri Nikolaevich Artsutanov (russian: Ю́рий Никола́евич Арцута́нов; 5 October 1929 – 1 January 2019) was a Russian engineer born in Leningrad. He was one of the pioneers of the idea of a space elevator. The February ...

(1929–2019) –

space elevator A space elevator, also referred to as a space bridge, star ladder, and orbital lift, is a proposed type of planet-to-space transportation system, often depicted in science fiction. The main component would be a cable (also called a space tethe ...

pioneer *

Holt Ashley Holt Ashley (January 10, 1923May 9, 2006) was an American aeronautical engineer notable for his seminal research of aeroelasticity.aeroelasticity Aeroelasticity is the branch of physics and engineering studying the interactions between the inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces occurring while an elastic body is exposed to a fluid flow. The study of aeroelasticity may be broadly classi ...

* Lee Atwood (1904–1999) – North American Aviation engineer

B

Erich Bachem Erich Bachem (12 August 1906, in Mülheim an der Ruhr – 25 March 1960) was a German engineer. In the 1930s Erich Bachem designed the ''Aero-Sport'' camping trailer built from plywood by the glider company Wolf Hirth in Kirchheim unter Teck. ...

(1906–1960) – designer of the Bachem Ba 349 Natter rocket plane *

Leonard Bairstow Sir Leonard Bairstow, CBE, FRS, FRAeS (25 June 1880 – 8 September 1963) was an English aeronautical engineer. Bairstow is best remembered for his work in aviation and for Bairstow's method for arbitrarily finding the roots of polynomials. ...

(1880–1963) –

National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the national measurement standards laboratory of the United Kingdom. It is one of the most extensive government laboratories in the UK and has a prestigious reputation for its role in setting and mainta ...

researcher * Herman Barkey (1909–2005) – led the design team for the McDonnell Aircraft F-4 Phantom. * V. P. Barmin (1909–1993) – designer of the rocket

launch complex A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire ...

* Frank Barnwell (1880–1938) – chief engineer Bristol Aeroplane Company *

Robert Ludvigovich Bartini Robert Ludvigovich Bartini (russian: Роберт Людвигович Бартини; 14 May 1897 – 6 December 1974) was an Hungarian-born Soviet aircraft designer and scientist, involved in the development of numerous successful and experime ...

(1897–1974) – designer of the Bartini Beriev VVA-14 and other experimental projects * (1914–2005) –

Aermacchi MB-326 The Aermacchi or Macchi MB-326 is a light military jet trainer designed in Italy. Originally conceived as a two-seat trainer, there have also been single and two-seat light attack versions produced. It is one of the most commercially successf ...

designer *

Jim Bede James R. Bede (April 17, 1933 – July 9, 2015) was an American aircraft designer. He designed well over a dozen aircraft starting in the 1960s, but a string of business failures kept most of these designs out of widespread use. Bede Avia ...

(1933–2015) *

Rex Beisel Rex Buren Beisel (October 24, 1893 – January 26, 1972) was an American aeronautical engineer and pioneer in the science and industry of aviation. He was the lead designer of several successful military and civilian aircraft, but is best known fo ...

(1893–1972) – lead engineer at Curtiss and

Vought Vought was the name of several related American aerospace firms. These have included, in the past, Lewis and Vought Corporation, Chance Vought, Vought-Sikorsky, LTV Aerospace (part of Ling-Temco-Vought), Vought Aircraft Companies, and Vought Ai ...

Giuseppe Mario Bellanca Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (March 19, 1886 – December 26, 1960) was an Italian-American aviation pioneer, airplane designer and builder, who is credited with many design firsts and whose aircraft broke many aviation records. He was inducted into t ...

(1886–1960) – aircraft pioneer,

blended wing A blended wing body (BWB), also known as blended body or hybrid wing body (HWB), is a fixed-wing aircraft having no clear dividing line between the wings and the main body of the craft. The aircraft has distinct wing and body structures, which ar ...

designer * Dwight Henry Bennett (1917–2002) – developed

Fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control ...

technology, helped design the F2Y,

F-102 The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair. Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main purpos ...

, F-4 Phantom,

F/A-18 The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part ...

* Thomas W. Benoist (1874–1917) – early

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

entrepreneur * Igor Bensen (1917–2000) –

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

designer * Max Bentele (1909–2006) – jet engine pioneer *

Georgy Beriev Georgy Mikhailovich Beriev (Beriashvili) (russian: Георгий Михайлович Бериев ''Georgij Michajlovič Beriev''; Georgian: გიორგი მიხეილის ძე ბერიაშვილი ''Giorgi Mikheilis D ...

(1903–1979) – founder of the Beriev design bureau * J. D. Bernal (1901–1971) - invented the

Bernal sphere A Bernal sphere is a type of space habitat intended as a long-term home for permanent residents, first proposed in 1929 by John Desmond Bernal. Bernal's original proposal described a hollow non-rotating spherical shell in diameter, with a targ ...

for space habitation * Albert Betz (1885–1968) – designer and researcher *

Paul Bevilaqua Paul Bevilaqua is an aeronautics engineer at Lockheed Martin in California. In 1990, he invented the lift fan for the Joint Strike Fighter F-35B along with fellow Skunk Works engineer Paul Shumpert. In 2005, Bevilaqua was elected as a member ...

– lift fan inventor * Robert Blackburn (1885–1955) – aviation pioneer * Louis Blériot (1872–1936) – aviation pioneer *

George Eugene Bockrath George Eugene Bockrath (February 15, 1911, Chicago – December 2, 1998) was an aeronautical engineer and early researcher in fracture mechanics. He earned a BS in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan and began his research c ...

(1911–1998) – researched fracture mechanics *

Hendrik Wade Bode Hendrik Wade Bode ( ; ;Van Valkenburg, M. E. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, "In memoriam: Hendrik W. Bode (1905-1982)", IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol. AC-29, No 3., March 1984, pp. 193–194. Quote: "Something should be ...

(1905–1982) – NASA advisor *

Jenny Body Jennifer Mary Body is a British aerospace engineer, the former President of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Early life and education Body, whose father was an aerospace engineer, was the only girl in her physics class at high school in Bri ...

– former President of the Royal Aeronautical Society *

William Boeing William Edward Boeing (; October 1, 1881 – September 28, 1956) was an American aviation pioneer who founded the Pacific Airplane Company in 1916, which a year later was renamed to The Boeing Company, now the largest exporter in the United S ...

(1881–1956) – founder of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

Charles Bolden Charles Frank Bolden Jr. (born August 19, 1946) is a former Administrator of NASA, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, and a former astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions. He graduated from the United States Naval ...

(born 1946) –

NASA Administrator The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the highest-ranking official of NASA, the national space agency of the United States. The administrator is NASA's chief decision maker, responsible for providing clarity to ...

* Ludwig Bölkow (1912–2003) – aerodynamicist for the

Me 262 The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed ''Schwalbe'' (German: "Swallow") in fighter versions, or ''Sturmvogel'' (German: "Storm Bird") in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German ...

* Alan Bond (born 1944) – designed spaceplanes and an SST * Philip Bono (1921–1993) – space launcher developer *

Frank Borman Frank Frederick Borman II (born March 14, 1928) is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) colonel (United States), colonel, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, businessman, and NASA astronaut. He was the commander of Apollo 8, the first missio ...

(born 1928) – first man to circle the Moon *

Karel Bossart Karel Jan Bossart (February 9, 1904 – August 3, 1975) was an innovative rocket designer and creator of the Atlas ICBM. His achievements rank alongside those of Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolev. But as most of his work was for the United ...

(1904–1975) – lead designer of the

Atlas ICBM The SM-65 Atlas was the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the United States and the first member of the Atlas rocket family. It was built for the U.S. Air Force by the Convair Division of General Dy ...

* Enea Bossi Sr. (1888–1963) – aviation pioneer *

William Hawley Bowlus William Hawley Bowlus (May 8, 1896 – August 27, 1967) was an American designer, engineer and builder of aircraft (especially gliders) and recreational vehicles in the 1930s and 1940s. Today he is most widely known for his creation of the worl ...

(1896–1967) – glider designer * Frances Bradfield (1895–1967) - wind tunnel researcher *

Louis Charles Breguet Louis Charles Breguet (2 January 1880 in Paris – 4 May 1955 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Île-de-France) was a French aircraft designer and builder, one of the early aviation pioneers. Biography Louis Charles Breguet was the grandson of L ...

(1880–1955) – aviation pioneer, founder of

Bréguet Aviation The ''Société des Ateliers d'Aviation Louis Bréguet'' also known as Bréguet Aviation was a French aircraft manufacturer. The company was set up in 1911 by the aviation pioneer Louis Charles Breguet. Bréguet Aviation was extremely active duri ...

Maurice Brennan Maurice Joseph Brennan BSC, MIMechE, FRAes (April 1913 – 18 January 1986) was a British aerospace engineer. His career encompassed the design and development of flying boats before the Second World War to rocket powered fighters after. He ha ...

(1913–1986) – designer of flying boats, helicopters, transports, rockets, hovercraft *

Yvonne Brill Yvonne Madelaine Brill (née Claeys; December 30, 1924 – March 27, 2013) was a Canadian American rocket and jet propulsion engineer. She is responsible for inventing the Electrothermal Hydrazine Thruster (EHT/Resistojet), a fuel-efficient rock ...

(1924–2013) – electrothermal hydrazine thruster *

Arthur E. Bryson Arthur Earl Bryson Jr. (born October 7, 1925) is the Paul Pigott Professor of Engineering Emeritus at Stanford University and the "father of modern optimal control theory". With Henry J. Kelley, he also pioneered an early version of the backpr ...

(born 1925) – "father of modern optimal control theory" * (1895–1976) – founder of Bücker-Flugzeugbau GmbH * Isabelle Buret – engineer specializing in telecommunications and astronautics *

Vincent Burnelli Vincent Justus Burnelli (November 22, 1895 – June 22, 1964) was an American aeronautics engineer, instrumental in furthering the lifting body and flying wing concept. Biography Burnelli was born on November 22, 1895, in Temple, Texas. ...

(1895–1964) – blended wing and

lifting body A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft or spacecraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage ...

designer *

Anne Burns Anne Burns (23 November 1915 – 22 January 2001) was a British aeronautical engineer and glider pilot. She had a career of nearly 40 years in the Royal Aircraft Establishment as an engineer and an expert in wind shear. As a glider pilot, ...

(1915–2001) –

wind shear Wind shear (or windshear), sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizont ...

expert * Adolf Busemann (1901–1986) – swept wing *

Robert W. Bussard Robert W. Bussard (August 11, 1928 – October 6, 2007) was an American physicist who worked primarily in nuclear fusion energy research. He was the recipient of the Schreiber-Spence Achievement Award for STAIF-2004. He was also a fellow of th ...

(1928–2007) – designer of

nuclear thermal rocket A nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) is a type of thermal rocket where the heat from a nuclear reaction, often nuclear fission, replaces the chemical energy of the propellants in a chemical rocket. In an NTR, a working fluid, usually liquid hydrog ...

engines *

Fedor Ivanovich Bylinkin Fedor Ivanovich Bylinkin was an aircraft designer and builder in Russia before World War I. He designed and built a monoplane in 1910 similar to the Antoinette VI which succeeded in reaching 200 m of flight. A later biplane design proved a failu ...

– aviation pioneer

C

* Sydney Camm (1893–1966) –

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

designer *

Secondo Campini Secondo Campini (August 28, 1904 – February 7, 1980) was an Italian engineer and one of the pioneers of the jet engine. Campini was born at Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. In 1931 he wrote a proposal for the Italian Air Ministry on the value of jet pr ...

(1904–1980) – jet engine pioneer *

Giovanni Caproni Giovanni Battista Caproni, 1st Count of Taliedo (July 3, 1886 – October 27, 1957), known as "Gianni" Caproni, was an Italian aeronautical engineer, civil engineer, electrical engineer, and aircraft designer who founded the Caproni aircraft-manu ...

(1886–1957) – founder of

Caproni Caproni, also known as ''Società de Agostini e Caproni'' and ''Società Caproni e Comitti'', was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Its main base of operations was at Taliedo, near Linate Airport, on the outskirts of Milan. Founded by Giovan ...

Albert Caquot Albert Irénée Caquot (1 July 1881 – 28 November 1976) was considered the "best living French engineer" for half of a century. He received the “Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)” (military honor) and was Grand-croix of the Légion d� ...

(1881–1976) – aviation pioneer * (1906–1976) – chief engineer at

Dewoitine Constructions Aéronautiques Émile Dewoitine was a French aircraft manufacturer established by Émile Dewoitine at Toulouse in October 1920. The company's initial products were a range of metal parasol-wing fighters which were largely ignored by t ...

, designer at

Fouga Fouga (also known as Air Fouga) was a French manufacturing company established by Gaston Fouga at Béziers during 1920. Originally specialising in the repair of railway rolling stock, the firm eventually became most noted for the aircraft it p ...

Mario Castoldi Mario Castoldi (February 26, 1888 - May 31, 1968) was an Italian aircraft engineer and designer. Biography Born in Zibido San Giacomo (province of Milan), Castoldi worked for the experimental center of Italian Military Aviation at Montecelio, no ...

(1888–1968) – chief designer at Aeronautica Macchi *

Beatrice Mabel Cave-Browne-Cave Beatrice Mabel Cave-Browne-Cave, MBE AFRAeS (30 May 1874 – 9 July 1947) was an English mathematician who undertook pioneering work in the mathematics of aeronautics. Birth and education Beatrice Cave-Browne-Cave was the daughter of Sir Thom ...

(1874–1947) – undertook pioneering work in the mathematics of aeronautics * George Cayley (1773–1857) – notable for his research in aerodynamics *

Clyde Cessna Clyde Vernon Cessna (; December 5, 1879 – November 20, 1954) was an American aircraft designer, aviator, and early aviation entrepreneur. He is best known as the principal founder of the Cessna Aircraft Corporation, which he started in 1927 i ...

(1879–1954) – early aircraft designer and founder of Cessna *

Roy Chadwick Roy Chadwick, CBE, FRSA, FRAeS (30 April 1893 – 23 August 1947) was an aircraft design engineer for the Avro Company. Born at Marsh Hall Farm, Farnworth, Widnes, the son of the mechanical engineer Charles Chadwick, he was the chief designer ...

(1893–1947) – design engineer for the Avro Company *

Roger Chaffee Roger Bruce Chaffee (; February 15, 1935 – January 27, 1967) was an American naval officer, aviator and aeronautical engineer who was a NASA astronaut in the Apollo program. Chaffee was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he became an Eag ...

(1935–1967) –

Apollo 1 Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was intended to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbita ...

fire victim on January 27, 1967 * George Henry Challenger (1881–1947) – engineer with the Bristol Aeroplane Company and later with Vickers * Jim Chamberlin (1915–1981) – Avro Canada, NASA * Roy Chaplin (1899–1988) – Hawker Aircraft * George Chapline Jr. (born 1942) – proposer of a

fission-fragment rocket The fission-fragment rocket is a rocket engine design that directly harnesses hot nuclear fission products for thrust, as opposed to using a separate fluid as working mass. The design can, in theory, produce very high specific impulse while stil ...

Kalpana Chawla Kalpana Chawla (17 March 1962 – 1 February 2003) was an Indian-born American astronaut and mechanical engineer who was the first woman of Indian origin to go to space. She first flew on Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' in 1997 as a mission speciali ...

(1961–2003) – died in the ''Columbia'' disaster *

Vladimir Chelomey Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey or Chelomei (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Челоме́й; 30 June 1914 – 8 December 1984) was a Soviet engineer of Ukrainian ethnicity and designer in missile program of the former Sovie ...

(1914–1984) – founded the OKB-52 rocket design bureau *

Boris Ivanovich Cheranovsky Boris Ivanovich Cheranovsky (russian: Борис Иванович Черановский, alternatively romanized as Chyeranovskii; 1 (13) July 1896 – 17 December 1960) was a Soviet aircraft designer, notable for creating aircraft with a ...

(1896–1960) – flying wing designer * (born 1955) – aerodynamicist *

Boris Chertok Boris Yevseyevich Chertok (russian: link=no, Бори́с Евсе́евич Черто́к; – 14 December 2011) was a Russian electrical engineer and the control systems designer in the Soviet Union's space program, and later found employm ...

(1912–2011) – space program control systems designer * Chu Chia-Jen (1900–1985) *

Zbysław Ciołkosz Zbysław Ciołkosz (23 March 1902 – 25 June 1960) was a prolific Polish American aircraft designer, whose work includes the P.Z.L. 27, PWS-20, LWS-3 Mewa, RWD-11, LWS-6 Żubr, PWS-1, PWS-54, PWS-19, LWS-2, and PWS-52.''Obituary'' (1960) Fli ...

(1902–1960) – introduced the use of shaft turbine power for helicopters *

John Drury Clark John Drury Clark, Ph.D. (August 15, 1907 – July 6, 1988) was an American rocket fuel developer, chemist, and science fiction writer. He was instrumental in the revival of interest in Robert E. Howard's '' Conan'' stories and influenced the wr ...

(1907–1988) – developer of jet and rocket fuel * Val Cleaver (1917–1977) – rocket engineer *

Henri Coandă Henri Marie Coandă (; 7 June 1886 – 25 November 1972)''Flight'' 1973 was a Romanian inventor, aerodynamics pioneer, and builder of an experimental aircraft, the Coandă-1910 described by Coandă in the mid-1950s as the world's first jet, a co ...

(1886–1972) – inventor of the jet engine * Richard Coar (1921–2013) – RJ10 rocket engine designer * Dandridge MacFarlan Cole (1921–1965) –

Titan II The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space l ...

designer *

Giuseppe Colombo Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo (October 2, 1920 in Padua – February 20, 1984 in Padua) was an Italian scientist, mathematician and engineer at the University of Padua, Italy. Mercury Colombo studied the planet Mercury, and it was his calculations w ...

(1920–1984) – developed the gravitational assist profile used in the Mariner 10 mission to Mercury, invented the space tether * Nicholas Comper (1897–1939) – designer of the

Comper Swift The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift is a British 1930s single-seat sporting aircraft produced by Comper Aircraft Company Ltd of Hooton Park, Cheshire. Design and development In March 1929 Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper left the Royal Air Force and form ...

* Philip M. Condit (born 1941) – former CEO of

* René Couzinet (1904–1956) – invented retractable landing gear * Eugene E. Covert (1926–2015) – wind tunnel designer * Gaetano Crocco (1877–1968) – rocketry pioneer *

Scott Crossfield Albert Scott Crossfield (October 2, 1921 – April 19, 2006) was an American naval officer and test pilot. In 1953, he became the first pilot to fly at twice the speed of sound. Crossfield was the first of twelve pilots who flew the North America ...

(1921–2006) – first man to fly faster than twice the speed of sound in NAA's

X-15 The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...

* Irv Culver (1911–1999) –

P-38 The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive twi ...

designer *

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early a ...

(1878–1930) – founder of the US aircraft industry

D

Werner Dahm Werner Karl Dahm (February 16, 1917 in Lindenthal, Germany – January 17, 2008 in Huntsville, Alabama) was an early spaceflight scientist of the Peenemünde Future Projects Office who emigrated to the US under Operation Paperclip and was the ...

(1917–2008) *

Frederick Dallenbach Frederick Dallenbach was an engineer at Garrett AiResearch, who did pioneering work in gas turbine engines for aircraft applications.''American Aviation'' (1949) 13, 30.Leyes, R. A. and Fleming, W. A. (1999''The History of North American Small Gas T ...

–

Auxiliary power unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115& ...

designer * (1889–1969) – developed solid fuel rocket fuel * Corradino D'Ascanio (1891–1981) – helicopter pioneer *

Marcel Dassault Marcel Dassault (born Marcel Ferdinand Bloch; 23 January 1892 – 17 April 1986) was a French engineer and industrialist who spent his career in aircraft manufacturing. Early life and education Born on 23 January 1892 in Paris, he was the young ...

(1892–1986) *

Serge Dassault Serge Dassault (; born Serge Paul André Bloch; 4 April 1925 – 28 May 2018) was a French engineer, businessman and politician. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Dassault Group, and a conservative politician. According to ' ...

(1925–2018) * Arthur Davenport (1891–1976) -

Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. D ...

* Stuart Davies (1906–1995) – designed the Avro Lancaster and

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

(1452–1519) *

Geoffrey de Havilland Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer. The aircraft company he founded produced the Mosquito, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built, ...

(1882–1965) * Juan de la Cierva (1895–1936) – inventor of the autogyro *

Satish Dhawan Satish Dhawan (25 September 1920 – 3 January 2002) was an Indian mathematician and aerospace engineer, widely regarded as the father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India. Born in Srinagar, Dhawan was educated in India an ...

(1920–2002) * Walter Stuart Diehl (1893–1976) - created US Navy test facilities, authored ''Engineering Aerodynamics'' * Paul Bernard Dilworth (1915–2007) * (born 1947) – sailplane designer *

Heini Dittmar Heini Dittmar (Born March 30, 1912, Bad Kissingen, Unterfranken, Germany – Died April 28, 1960 near Mülheim an der Ruhr, West Germany) was a record-breaking German glider pilot. Inspired by the example of his glider flying brother Edgar, Di ...

(1911–1960) – record-breaking pilot * Jurgis Dobkevičius (1900–1926) – Lithuanian aviation constructor, military pilot *

Takeo Doi was a Japanese academic, psychoanalyst and author. Early life Doi was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1920. He was a graduate of the University of Tokyo. Career Doi was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Neuropsychiatry at the University of Toky ...

(1904–1996) – designer for Kawasaki Aircraft Industries *

Tom Dolan Thomas Fitzgerald Dolan (born September 15, 1975) is an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Dolan grew up in Arlington, Virginia. He attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, wh ...

– developed the

lunar orbit rendezvous Lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) is a process for landing humans on the Moon and returning them to Earth. It was utilized for the Apollo program missions in the 1960s and 1970s. In a LOR mission, a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar lander travel to ...

concept for the Apollo program *

Roy Dommett Roy Leonard Dommett (25 June 1933 – 2 November 2015) was a British engineer and rocket scientist, and the United Kingdom's Chief Missile Scientist, who for many years led the United Kingdom's research and development of both ballistic missil ...

(1933–2015) – the United Kingdom's Chief Missile Scientist * Allen F. Donovan (1914–1995) WW2 aircraft, Atlas and Titan missiles, nuclear rockets *

Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...

(1896–1993) – instrument flying developer * Étienne Dormoy (1885–1959) – airplane and autogyro designer *

Claude Dornier Claude (Claudius) Honoré Désiré Dornier (born in Kempten im Allgäu on 14 May 1884 – 5 December 1969) was a German-French airplane designer and founder of Dornier GmbH. His notable designs include the 12-engine Dornier Do X flying boat ...

(1884–1969) *

Anatoly Dorodnitsyn Anatoly Alekseyevich Dorodnitsyn (Russian: Анатолий Алексеевич Дородницын) 19 November (per Julian Calendar), 2 December (per Gregorian Calendar), 1910 – 7 June 1994, Moscow) was a Russian mathematician who worked a ...

(1910–1994) – researched meteorology, vortex wing theory, boundary layer theory in a compressible gas, and supersonic gas dynamics * Donald W. Douglas (1892–1981) – founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company *

Iain Dowie Iain Dowie (born 9 January 1965) is a football manager, former professional footballer and sports television pundit. He played as a striker from 1983 until 2001, notably in the Premier League for Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham Unit ...

(born 1965) *

George Dowty Sir George Herbert Dowty (27 March 1901 – 2 December 1975) was an English inventor and businessman. He founded Dowty Aviation in the 1930s producing aircraft components such as hydraulic systems, undercarriage units, and warning devices. Earl ...

(1901–1975) – designer of aircraft components *

Charles Stark Draper Charles Stark "Doc" Draper (October 2, 1901 – July 25, 1987) was an American scientist and engineer, known as the "father of inertial navigation". He was the founder and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Instrumentat ...

(1901–1987) – developed inertial navigation *

Hugh Latimer Dryden Hugh Latimer Dryden (July 2, 1898 – December 2, 1965) was an American aeronautical scientist and civil servant. He served as NASA Deputy Administrator from August 19, 1958, until his death. Biography Early life and education Dryden was born i ...

(1898–1965) – researcher and NASA administrator *

Guy du Merle Guy du Merle (1 January 1908 – 6 June 1993) was a French aeronautical engineer, test pilot and writer. He was the first director-general of the ''École nationale de l'aviation civile'' (French civil aviation university). Biography Du Merle ...

(1908–1993) – engineer, test flew captured Bf-109 and He-111 in Spain *

Alberto Santos Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavier- ...

(1873–1932) – inventor of the dirigible; aeronautics pioneer * J. W. Dunne (1875–1949) – invented the first delta wing *

Pedro Duque Pedro Francisco Duque Duque, OF, OMSE (Madrid, 14 March 1963) is a Spanish astronaut and aeronautics engineer who served as Minister of Science of the Government of Spain from 2018 to 2021. He was also Member of the Congress of Deputies from ...

(born 1963) * William F. Durand (1859–1958) – propeller designer, NACA chair

E

* George Edwards (1908–2003) – designer at

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

and BAC *

Joe Engle Joe Henry Engle (born August 26, 1932) is an American pilot, aeronautical engineer and former NASA astronaut. He was the commander of two Space Shuttle missions including STS-2 in 1981, the program's second orbital flight. He also flew three ...

(born 1932) * (1924–2021) – sailplane designer *

Robert Esnault-Pelterie Robert Albert Charles Esnault-Pelterie (8 November 1881 – 6 December 1957) was a French aircraft designer and spaceflight theorist. He is referred to as being one of the founders of modern rocketry and astronautics, along with the Russian Kons ...

(1881–1957) – aviation and rocketry pioneer, invented the center stick *

Walter Extra Walter Extra is a German award-winning aerobatic pilot and chief aircraft designer who founded the aerobatic aircraft manufacturer Extra Flugzeugbau (Extra Aircraft Construction). Extra was trained as a mechanical engineer. He began his flight ...

(born 1954)

F

* (1909–1944) *

Maxime Faget Maxime Allen "Max" Faget (pronounced ''fah-ZHAY''; August 26, 1921 – October 9, 2004) was a Belizean-born American mechanical engineer. Faget was the designer of the Mercury spacecraft, and contributed to the later Gemini and Apollo spa ...

(1921–2004) – designer of the

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...

spacecraft *

Ole Fahlin Ole (Olaf) Fahlin (May 8, 1901 – January 26, 1992) was a Swedish aviator who made his career manufacturing propellers and aviation products in the United States. He also developed prototype airplanes and worked in projects with Chrysler and Lock ...

(1901–1992) – propeller and prototype airplane developer * Sherman Fairchild (1896–1971) – founded Fairchild Aircraft * Charles Richard Fairey (1857–1956) – founder of the

Fairey Aviation Company The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...

* Farman Brothers * Robert W. Farquhar (1932–2015) – NASA engineer, inventor of the halo orbit *

Roy Fedden Sir Alfred Hubert Roy Fedden MBE, FRAeS (6 June 1885 – 21 November 1973) was an engineer who designed most of Bristol Engine Company's successful piston aircraft engine designs. Early life Fedden was born in the Bristol area to fairly weal ...

(1885–1973) –

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

engine designer for

Bristol Engine Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable ...

Antonio Ferri Antonio Ferri (5 April 1912 – 28 December 1975) was an Italian scientist, prominent in the field of aerodynamics, with a specialization in hypersonic and supersonic flight. Born in 1912 in Norcia, Italy, from 1937 he conducted research in Guido ...

(1912–1975) – created the Ferri scoop used on the jet intakes of the XF-103,

F-105 The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American supersonic fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Viet ...

, XF8U-3, and

SSM-N-9 Regulus II The SSM-N-9 Regulus II cruise missile is a supersonic guided missile armed with a nuclear warhead, intended for launching from surface ships and submarines of the U.S. Navy (USN).Koch, Charles A"Regulus II cruise missile".''Regulus II Cruise Missi ...

cruise missile *

Gerhard Fieseler Gerhard Fieseler (15 April 1896 – 1 September 1987) was a German World War I flying ace, aerobatics champion, and aircraft designer and manufacturer. From birth to the 1918 armistice Born in Glesch (near Cologne), Fieseler joined the Air Serv ...

(1896–1987) – German aircraft designer * Harold Finger (born 1924) – Project NERVA lead engineer * Gary Flandro (born 1934) – NASA researcher, conceived the

Planetary Grand Tour The Grand Tour was a NASA program that would have sent two groups of robotic probes to all the planets of the outer Solar System. It called for four spacecraft, two of which would visit Jupiter, Saturn, and Pluto, while the other two would visit ...

fulfilled by the

Voyager program The Voyager program is an American scientific program that employs two robotic interstellar probes, ''Voyager 1'' and ''Voyager 2''. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, to fly near t ...

* Alexander H. Flax (1921–2014) – developer of tandem helicopters and reconnaissance satellites *

Anton Flettner Anton Flettner (November 1, 1885 – December 29, 1961) was a German aviation engineer and inventor. Born in Eddersheim (today a district of Hattersheim am Main), Flettner made important contributions to airplane, helicopter, vessel, and automob ...

(1885–1961) - helicopter pioneer * Nicolas Florine (1891–1972) – helicopter pioneer * James C. Floyd (born 1914) – Avro Canada designer *

Henrich Focke Henrich Focke (8 October 1890 – 25 February 1979) was a German aviation pioneer from Bremen and also a co-founder of the Focke-Wulf company. He is best known as the inventor of the Fw 61, the first successful German helicopter. Biography ...

(1890–1979) – helicopter pioneer * Anthony Fokker (1890–1939) *

Henry Folland Henry Philip Folland OBE (22 January 1889 – 5 September 1954) was an English aviation engineer and aircraft designer. Early years Folland was born on 22 January 1889 to Frederick and Mary Folland at 2 King Street, Holy Trinity, Cambridge.1 ...

(1889–1954) – chief designer at Nieuport, Gloster, and

Folland Aircraft Folland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturing company which was active between 1937 and 1963. History British Marine Aircraft Limited was formed in February 1936 to produce Sikorsky S-42-A flying boats under licence in the UK. The c ...

Robert L. Forward Robert Lull Forward (August 15, 1932 – September 21, 2002) was an American physicist and science fiction writer. His literary work was noted for its scientific credibility and use of ideas developed from his career as an aerospace engineer. He ...

(1932–2002) – designer of solar sails and space tethers * Harlan D. Fowler (1895–1982) – Fowler flap inventor * John Fozard (1928–1996) – Hawker Siddeley Harrier designer *

Anselm Franz Anselm Franz (January 20, 1900—November 18, 1994) was a pioneering Austrian jet engine engineer known for the development of the Jumo 004, the world's first mass-produced turbojet engine by Nazi Germany during World War II, and his work on tur ...

(1900–1994) – jet engine pioneer * Stelio Frati (1919–2010) – designer of several aircraft inc the SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 * (1909–1996) – first inventor of the area rule *

Leslie Frise Leslie George Frise FRAeS (2 July 1895 – 26 September 1979) was a British aerospace engineer and aircraft designer; he designed the Type 156 Bristol Beaufighter. He was involved in the development of aircraft and gun-turret hydraulic systems. ...

(1895–1979) – designed the Type 156 Bristol Beaufighter * John Carver Meadows Frost (1915–1979) – chief designer of the

Avro Canada CF-100 The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to en ...

and several

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wi ...

projects *

Michimasa Fujino is a retired Japanese aeronautical engineer, entrepreneur, and founder of the Honda Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company. Fujino worked as chief engineer within Honda R&D, then as vice president, before he was named the pr ...

(born 1960) –

Hondajet The Honda HA-420 HondaJet is a light business jet produced by the Honda Aircraft Company of Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Original concepts of the aircraft started in 1997 and were completed in 1999. It took its maiden flight on D ...

designer

G

Giuseppe Gabrielli Giuseppe Gabrielli (26 February 1903 – 29 November 1987) was an Italian aeronautics engineer. He is famous as the designer of numerous Italian military aircraft, including the Fiat G.50 Freccia and G.55 World War II fighters. He was born in ...

(1903–1987) – aircraft designer * – designer of the STOL

IMAM Ro.63 The IMAM Ro.63 was an Italian STOL aircraft designed for short-range reconnaissance and light transport during World War II. Development and design Interest in a STOL aircraft was raised by the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch acquired from Germany, an ...

* (1902–1971) *

Robert Gilruth Robert Rowe Gilruth (October 8, 1913 – August 17, 2000) was an American aerospace engineer and an aviation/space pioneer who was the first director of NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center, later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. He worked ...

(1913–2000) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator *

Peter Glaser Peter Edward Glaser (September 5, 1923 – May 29, 2014) was a Czechoslovakian-born American scientist and aerospace engineer. He served as Vice President, Advanced Technology (1985–94), was employed at Arthur D. Little, Inc., Cambridge, MA (19 ...

(1923–2014) – developed the solar power satellite * John Glenn (1921–2016) – first American man to orbit the Earth in 1962 *

Valentin Glushko Valentin Petrovich Glushko (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Глушко́; uk, Валентин Петрович Глушко, Valentyn Petrovych Hlushko; born 2 September 1908 – 10 January 1989) was a Soviet engineer and the ...

(1908–1989) *

Robert Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard successfully laun ...

(1882–1945) – scientist who developed the first liquid-fueled rocket 3-16-26 * Tadeusz Góra (1918–2010) * (1903—1945) – co-developer of the

LaGG-3 The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1 and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the Sov ...

* (1902–1933) – designer and factory manager *

Fritz Gosslau Fritz Gosslau (25 March 1898 – 1 December 1965) was a German engineer, known for his work on the V-1 flying bomb. Study Gosslau was born in Berlin. In 1923, he completed his engineering studies by gaining a diploma from the Technical Univer ...

(1898–1965) –

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

designer * Arthur Gouge (1890–1962) – designed the "C-class" Empire and Sunderland flying boats, invented the Gouge flap * Granville Brothers – GeeBee racers * Jay Greene (1942–2017) *

Gus Grissom Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was an American engineer, pilot in the United States Air Force, and member of the Mercury Seven selected by National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) as Project Mercur ...

(1926–1967) – Apollo 1 fire victim on January 27, 1967 * Gordon G. Grose (1925-1993) – integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays * (1904-1983) – co-developer of the LaGG-3 *

Leroy Grumman Leroy Randle "Roy" Grumman (4 January 1895 – 4 October 1982) was an American aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and industrialist. In 1929, he co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering Co., later renamed Grumman Aerospace Corporation, and now ...

(1895–1982) – founder of

Grumman Aircraft The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 199 ...

Siegfried and Walter Günter Siegfried Günter (8 December 1899 – 20 June 1969) and Walter Günter (8 December 1899 – 21 September 1937) were German twin brothers and pioneering aircraft designers. Walter was responsible for the world's first rocket-powered and tu ...

(1899–1969)(1899–1937) – jet aircraft pioneers * Mikhail Gurevich (1893–1976) – co-founder of the MiG design bureau *

Bartolomeu de Gusmão Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (December 1685 – 18 November 1724) was a Brazilian-born Portuguese priest and naturalist, who was a pioneer of lighter-than-air airship design. Early life Gusmão was born at Santos, then part of the Portugue ...

(1685–1724) – Portuguese priest, aircraft designer *

Antanas Gustaitis Antanas Gustaitis (March 26, 1898 – October 16, 1941) was an officer in the Lithuanian Armed Forces who modernized the Lithuanian Air Force, which at that time was part of the Lithuanian Army. He was the architect or aeronautical engineer who ...

(1898–1941) – Lithuanian aircraft designer, Brigadier General, Commander-in-Chief of Lithuanian Air Force

H

Wolfgang Haack Wolfgang Siegfried Haack (24 April 1902 – 28 November 1994) was a German mathematician and aerodynamicist. He in 1941 and William Sears in 1947 independently discovered the Sears–Haack body. Life Wolfgang Haack studied mechanical eng ...

(1902–1994) *

B. J. Habibie Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian engineer and politician who was the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh vice preside ...

(1936–2019) * Raoul Hafner (1905–1980) – helicopter pioneer * (1924-1975) – sailplane designer *

Harry Hawker Harry George Hawker, MBE, AFC (22 January 1889 – 12 July 1921) was an Australian aviation pioneer. He was the chief test pilot for Sopwith and was also involved in the design of many of their aircraft. After the First World War, he co-fo ...

(1889–1921) – test pilot, formed Hawker Aircraft *

Willis Hawkins Willis Moore Hawkins (December 1, 1913 – September 28, 2004) was an aeronautical engineer for Lockheed for more than fifty years. He was hired in 1937, immediately after receiving his bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from the U ...

(1913–2004) – design lead of the L-133 and

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

* Clinton H. Havill (1892–1953) – researched airships and propellers * Richard E. Hayden (born 1946) – noise reduction developer * Wallace D. Hayes (1918–2001) – discoverer of the area rule and hypersonics * (born 1954) – sailplane designer * Edward H. Heinemann (1908–1991) – Chief Engineer for Douglas Aircraft, designed 20 military aircraft *

Ernst Heinkel Dr. Ernst Heinkel (24 January 1888 – 30 January 1958) was a German aircraft designer, manufacturer, '' Wehrwirtschaftsführer'' in Nazi Germany, and member of the Nazi party. His company Heinkel Flugzeugwerke produced the Heinkel He 178, th ...

(1888–1958) – developed first jet rocket aircraft * Chris Heintz (1938–2021) – kit plane designer *

Hall Hibbard Hall Livingstone Hibbard (July 26, 1903 – June 6, 1996) was an engineer and administrator of the Lockheed Corporation beginning with the company's purchase by a board of investors led by Robert E. Gross in 1932. Born in Kansas, he received a bach ...

(1903–1996) – Lockheed engineer *

Homer Hickam Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. (born February 19, 1943) is an American author, Vietnam War veteran, and a former NASA engineer who trained the first Japanese astronauts. His 1998 memoir ''Rocket Boys'' (also published as ''October Sky'') was a ''New ...

(born 1943) - NASA engineer, model rocketry enthusiast * Stanley Hiller (1924–2006) – founder

Hiller Aircraft Hiller Aircraft Company was founded in 1942 as Hiller Industries by Stanley Hiller to develop helicopters. History Stanley Hiller, then seventeen, established the first helicopter factory on the West Coast of the United States, located in Berkele ...

Hellmuth Hirth Hellmuth Hirth (; April 24, 1886 – July 1, 1938) was a German engineer who founded the Mahle GmbH and Hirth companies, manufacturing engine components and complete aircraft engines respectively. Biography Hirth was born in Heilbronn, the son ...

(1886–1938) – aircraft engine designer, brother of Wolf Hirth *

Wolf Hirth Wolfram Kurt Erhard Hirth (28 February 1900 – 25 July 1959) was a German gliding pioneer and sailplane designer. He was a co-founder of Schempp-Hirth, still a renowned glider manufacturer.Segelflugbildkalendar 2011 Hirth was born in Stuttgart ...

(1900–1959) – sailplane designer, brother of Hellmuth Hirth * Leonard S. Hobbs (1896–1977) – engine designer * John Hodge (1929–2021) – Avro Canada, NASA *

Sighard F. Hoerner Dr. Sighard F. Hoerner (born 18 April 1906, Münster, Germany — d. 22 June 1971, Brick Town, USA) was an important figure in the aerodynamics field and is known worldwide for his two compendiums of aerodynamic knowledge, ''Fluid-Dynamic Drag'' a ...

(1906—1971) – aerodynamicist, assisted the

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch The Fieseler Fi 156 ''Storch'' (, " stork") was a German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II. Production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market. It was notable for its excellent short fi ...

design * Nicholas J. Hoff (1906–1997) * Samuel Kurtz Hoffman (1902–1995) – rocket engine designer * Kurt Hohenemser (1906–2001) – helicopter pioneer * Walter Hohmann (1880–1945) – invented the

Hohmann transfer orbit In astronautics, the Hohmann transfer orbit () is an orbital maneuver used to transfer a spacecraft between two orbits of different altitudes around a central body. Examples would be used for travel between low Earth orbit and the Moon, or ...

* Peter K. Homer (born 1961) *

Stanley Hooker Sir Stanley George Hooker, CBE, FRS, DPhil, BSc, FRAeS, MIMechE, FAAAS, (30 September 1907 – 24 May 1984) was a mathematician and jet engine engineer. He was employed first at Rolls-Royce where he worked on the earliest designs such as ...

(1907–1984) – British engine engineer for Rolls-Royce Aerospace * Ralph Hooper (1926–2022) –

Hawker Siddeley Harrier The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British military aircraft. It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft and was developed in the 1960s as the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff an ...

developer *

Jiro Horikoshi was the chief engineer of many Japanese fighter designs of World War II, including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter. Early life Jiro Horikoshi was born near the city of Fujioka, Gunma Prefecture, Japan, in 1903. Horikoshi graduated from the new ...

(1903–1982) – chief engineer for the

Mitsubishi A6M The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was ...

* Horten brothers (1913–1998) (1915–1994) – flying wing designers *

John Houbolt John Cornelius Houbolt (April 10, 1919 – April 15, 2014) was an aerospace engineer credited with leading the team behind the lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) mission mode, a concept that was used to successfully land humans on the Moon and return t ...

(1919–2014) – NASA engineer, lunar orbit rendezvous proponent *

Kathleen Howell Kathleen Howell is an American scientist and aerospace engineer known for her contributions to dynamical systems theory applied to spacecraft trajectory design which led to the use of halo orbit in multiple NASA space missions. She is currently the ...

– known for her contributions to dynamical systems theory applied to spacecraft trajectory * Hsue-Chu Tsien (1914–1997) – aeronautical engineer *

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

(1905–1976) – aerospace engineer, owned RKO movie studio *

Jerome Clarke Hunsaker Jerome Clarke Hunsaker (August 26, 1886 – September 10, 1984) was an American naval officer and aeronautical engineer, born in Creston, Iowa, and educated at the U.S. Naval Academy and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His work with Gus ...

(1886–1984) – pioneer of heavier and lighter than air aircraft *

Rick Husband Richard Douglas Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut and fighter pilot. He traveled into space twice: as Pilot of STS-96 and Commander of STS-107. He and the rest of the crew of STS-107 were killed when ''C ...

(1957–2003) – died in the ''Columbia'' disaster * François Hussenot (1912–1951) – inventor of one of the early forms of the flight recorder * (1909-1990) – sailplane designer

I

Sergey Ilyushin Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin (russian: Серге́й Владимирович Илью́шин; – 9 February 1977) was a Soviet aircraft designer who founded the Ilyushin aircraft design bureau. He designed the Il-2 Shturmovik, which mad ...

(1894–1977) – founder of the Ilyushin design bureau * Hideo Itokawa (1912–1999) – aircraft and rocket designer at

Nakajima Aircraft Company The was a prominent Japanese aircraft manufacturer and aviation engine manufacturer throughout World War II. It continues as the car and aircraft manufacturer Subaru. History The Nakajima Aircraft company was Japan's first aircraft manufactur ...

J

* Eastman Jacobs (1902–1987) – advanced wind tunnels, airfoils, turbulence, boundary layers, and Schlieren photography *

Hans Jacobs Hans Jacobs (30 April 1907 in Hamburg - 24 October 1994) was a German sailplane designer and pioneer. He had been taught sailplane design by Alexander Lippisch, designer of many gliders during the 1920s and the 1930s. As the head of the ''Deut ...

(1907–1994) – sailplane pioneer *

Antony Jameson Guy Antony Jameson, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, FREng (born 20 November 1934, Gillingham, Kent) is Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University. Jameson is known for his pioneering work in the field of comp ...

(born 1934) – pioneered

computational fluid dynamics Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and data structures to analyze and solve problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate ...

* Robert P. Johannes (1934–2004) – developed

technology *

Clarence "Kelly" Johnson Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson (February 27, 1910 – December 21, 1990) was an American aeronautical and systems engineer. He is recognized for his contributions to a series of important aircraft designs, most notably the Lockheed U-2 an ...

(1910–1990) – formed Lockheed's

Skunk Works Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, beginning with the P-38 Lightning in 1 ...

and led the design of the SR-71, U-2, F-117A, F-104, C-130, T-33, P-38, and Constellations *

Katherine Johnson Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. ...

(1918–2020) – mathematician who worked as an aerospace technologist at

Robert Thomas Jones Robert Thomas Jones may refer to: * Robert Jones (Labour politician) (1874–1940), Welsh quarryman, trade unionist and politician * Robert Thomas Jones (engineer) (1910–1999), aerodynamicist and aeronautical engineer {{hndis, Jones, Robert Thom ...

(1910–1999) – aeronautical engineer at NASA *

Drago Jovanovich Dragoljub Kosta Jovanovich (January 24, 1916 – November 12, 1983), also known under his pen name D. K. or "Gish" Jovanovich, was a Serbian-American helicopter designer, inventor, and pioneer in autogyro technology. Born in the Kingdom of Yugosla ...

(1916–1983) – rotorcraft designer * Charles Joy (1911–1989) – engineer at Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, Gloster Aircraft Company. and Handley Page *

Hugo Junkers Hugo Junkers (3 February 1859 – 3 February 1935) was a German aircraft engineer and aircraft designer who pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes and flying wings. His company, Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (Junkers Aircraft and ...

(1859–1935) – pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes

K

Rudolf Kaiser Rudolf Kaiser (10 September 1922 – 11 September 1991) was a designer of glider (sailplane), gliders who worked for Alexander Schleicher GmbH & Co. The designs of Rudolf Kaiser have proven themselves for over 50 years all over the world. His d ...

(1922–1991) – sailplane designer * A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) – former President of India; "Missile Man of India" * Charles Kaman (1919–2011) – helicopter pioneer * Nikolai Kamov (1902–1973) – founder of the Kamov design bureau * Abraham Karem (born 1947) – founder of

UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

(drone) technology *

Alexander Kartveli Alexander Kartveli, born Aleksandre Kartvelishvili, ( ka, ალექსანდრე ქართველიშვილი) (September 9, 1896 – July 20, 1974) was a Georgian aeronautical engineer and an aviation pioneer in the United ...

(1896–1974) – Chief Engineer at

Republic Aviation The Republic Aviation Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer based in Farmingdale, New York, on Long Island. Originally known as the Seversky Aircraft Company, the company was responsible for the design and production of many important ...

, and contributor to first aerospace vehicle prototypes * David Keith-Lucas (1911–1997) – engineer at

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

Mstislav Keldysh Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh (russian: Мстисла́в Все́володович Ке́лдыш; – 24 June 1978) was a Soviet mathematician who worked as an engineer in the Soviet space program. He was the academician of the Academy o ...

(1911–1978) – rocket and spacecraft designer * W. Wallace Kellett (1891–1951) –

Kellett Autogiro Corporation The Kellett Autogiro Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from 1929 based in Philadelphia, named after founder W. Wallace Kellett. History The Kellett Aircraft was formed by W. Wallace Kellett and C. Townsend Ludington and their b ...

* Thomas J. Kelly (1929–2002) – leader of the Apollo Lunar Module design team *

Alexander Kemurdzhian Aleksandr Leonovich Kemurdzhian (russian: Александр Леонович Кемурджиан; 4 October 192125 February 2003) was a Soviet mechanical engineer who worked at the VNIITransmash institute for the most of the second half of th ...

(1921–2003) – mechanical engineer who is best known for designing

Lunokhod 1 ''Lunokhod 1'' ( Russian: Луноход-1 ("Moonwalker 1"), also known as Аппарат 8ЕЛ № 203 ("Device 8EL No. 203")) was the first of two robotic lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of its Lunokhod program. The ...

, the first ever lunar rover *

Sergey Khristianovich Sergey Alekseyevich Khristianovich (russian: link=no, Сергей Алексеевич Христианович, 9 November 1908 – 28 April 2000) was a mechanics scientist from the Soviet Union. Academician of AS USSR since 1943 (corresponding ...

(1908–2000) – aerpdynamicst * (1906–1991) – designer at

Kawanishi Aircraft Company was a Japanese aircraft manufacturer during World War II. History The company was founded as Kawanishi Engineering Works in 1920 in Hyōgo Prefecture as an outgrowth of the Kawanishi conglomerate, which had been funding the Nakajima Aircraft Co ...

and

ShinMaywa , romanized_name = Shin-Meiwa Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha , former_name = ShinMeiwa Industries, Ltd. , type = K.K. , industry = Transportation, Machine, Defense , traded_as = , fate = , predecessor = Kawanishi Aircraft Company , success ...

* (1904–1986) –

YS-11 The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of ...

designer * Dutch Kindelberger (1895–1962) – Chief Engineer at Douglas Aircraft and head of North American Aviation *

Klapmeier brothers The Klapmeier brothers, Alan Lee Klapmeier (born October 6, 1958) and Dale Edward Klapmeier (born July 2, 1961), are retired American aircraft designers and aviation entrepreneurs who together founded the Cirrus Aircraft, Cirrus Design Corporati ...

(born 1958) (born 1961) – founders of Cirrus Aircraft * Milton Klein (1924–2022) – nuclear rocket engineer * (1885–1961) – founded the Klemm Light Aircraft Company * – aircraft engine designer, founder of the

Klimov The JSC Klimov (or Joint Stock Company Klimov) presently manufactures internationally certified gas turbine engines, main gearboxes and accessory drive gearboxes for transport aircraft. Originally established as ''Kirill Klimov Experimental D ...

design bureau * Ave K. Kludze, Jr. (born 1967?) - NASA engineer * Heinz-Hermann Koelle (1925–2011) – von Braun associate * Yuri Kondratyuk (1897–1942) – first developer of the lunar orbit rendezvous concept * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991) – MIT professor, designer for Ford and Helio Courier *

Sergey Korolev Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (russian: Сергей Павлович Королёв, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov, sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ kərɐˈlʲɵf, Ru-Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.ogg; ukr, Сергій Павлович Корольов, ...

(1907–1966) – Korolev rocket design bureau founder *

Gleb Kotelnikov Gleb Yevgeniyevich Kotelnikov (Russian: ''Глеб Евгеньевич Котельников'', – November 22, 1944), was the Russian-Soviet inventor of the knapsack parachute (first in the hard casing and then in the soft pack), and brakin ...

(1872–1944) – parachute pioneer * Frank Kozloski (1916–2003) – rotorcraft and missile developer *

Chris Kraft Christopher Columbus Kraft Jr. (February 28, 1924 – July 22, 2019) was an American aerospace and NASA engineer who was instrumental in establishing the agency's Mission Control Center and shaping its organization and culture. His protégé ...

(1924–2019) – NASA administrator * Eugene Kranz (born 1933) – aeronautical engineer * Werner Krüger (1910–2003) – inventor of the Krueger flap *

Dietrich Küchemann Dietrich Küchemann CBE FRS FRAeS (11 September 1911 – 23 February 1976) was a German aerodynamicist who made several important contributions to the advancement of high-speed flight. He spent most of his career in the UK, where he is ...

(1911–1976) - aerodynamicist * Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov (1911–1995) – chief designer of the Kuznetsov design bureau

L

Gustav Lachmann Gustav Victor Lachmann (3 February 1896 – 30 May 1966) was a German aeronautical engineer who spent most of his professional life working for the British aircraft company Handley Page. He was, with Frederick Handley Page, the co-inventor of the ...

(1896–1966) – designer at Handley-Page * Barry Laight (1920–2012) – designer of the Blackburn Buccaneer *

Aarne Lakomaa Aarne Lakomaa (1914–2001) was a Finnish aircraft designer. Born in Finland, Lakomaa graduated from Helsinki Polytechnics. He fought as an Army Lieutenant in the Winter War (1939–40) and the Continuation War (1941–44) against the Soviet Unio ...

(1914–2001) – involved in the design of the

Saab 35 Draken The Saab 35 Draken (; 'The Kite' or 'The Dragon') is a Swedish fighter-interceptor developed and manufactured by Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget ( SAAB) between 1955 and 1974. Development of the Saab 35 Draken started in 1948 as the Swedish air f ...

and the

Saab 37 Viggen The Saab 37 Viggen ( Swedish for ''"the Bolt"'' or ''"the Tufted Duck"'' ( see name)) is a retired Swedish single-seat, single-engine, short-medium range combat aircraft. Development work on the type was initiated at Saab in 1952 and, follow ...

* Frederick W. Lanchester (1868–1946) – aerodynamicist * Geoffrey A. Landis (born 1955) – NASA engineer, interplanetary exploration *

Samuel Pierpont Langley Samuel Pierpont Langley (August 22, 1834 – February 27, 1906) was an American aviation pioneer, astronomer and physicist who invented the bolometer. He was the third secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and a professor of astronomy a ...

(1834–1906) – aircraft pioneer * Agnew E. Larsen (1897–1969) – engineer at Curtiss and Pitcairn *

Conrad Lau Conrad Albert 'Connie' Lau (February 8, 1921 – April 18, 1964) was an American aeronautical engineer, inventor, and executive. Lau led or contributed to the development of a number of important aircraft and spacecraft projects. Early life ...

(1921–1964) – lead designer of the XF8U-3 and A-7 Corsair *

Semyon Lavochkin Semyon Alekseyevich Lavochkin (russian: Семён Алексе́евич Ла́вочкин; 11 September 1900 - 9 June 1960) was a Soviet aerospace engineer, Soviet aircraft designer who founded the Lavochkin aircraft design bureau. Many of his ...

(1900–1960) – founder of the Lavochkin design bureau * Lovell Lawrence Jr. (1915 – 1971) - co-founder of

Reaction Motors Reaction Motors, Inc. (RMI) was an early American maker of liquid-fueled rocket engines, located in New Jersey. RMI engines with thrust powered the Bell X-1 rocket aircraft that first broke the sound barrier in 1947, and later aircraft such ...

Bill Lear William Powell Lear (June 26, 1902 – May 14, 1978) was an American inventor and businessman. He is best known for founding Learjet, a manufacturer of business jets. He also invented the battery eliminator for the B battery, and developed the ...

(1902–1978) – founder of Learjet * Jerome F. Lederer (1902–2004) – aviation-safety pioneer *

René Leduc René Leduc (1898–1968) was a French engineer who is much acclaimed for his work on ramjets. In 1949 the Leduc 0.10 became the first aircraft to fly under the power of ramjets alone. Development of this aircraft had begun in 1937, but was sever ...

(1898–1968) – designer of the ramjet-powered Leduc 0.10 * Diane Lemaire (1923–2012) – first woman to graduate from the University of Melbourne with a degree in engineering * Léon Levavasseur (1863–1922) – aviation pioneer * David S. Lewis (1917–2003) – F-4 Phantom II program manager * George W. Lewis (1882–1948) – NACA administrator * Gordon Lewis (1924–2010) – turbine engine designer * Robert Lickley (1912–1998) – Chief Engineer at

* Robert H. Liebeck – airfoil and

blended wing body A blended wing body (BWB), also known as blended body or hybrid wing body (HWB), is a fixed-wing aircraft having no clear dividing line between the wings and the main body of the craft. The aircraft has distinct wing and body structures, which ar ...

designer *

Otto Lilienthal Karl Wilhelm Otto Lilienthal (23 May 1848 – 10 August 1896) was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the "flying man". He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful flights with gliders, therefore making ...

(1848–1896) *

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

(1902–1974) – made first solo transatlantic airplane flight from NY to Paris in 1927 on Spirit of St. Louis * Per Lindstrand (born 1948) – balloons and other aircraft * Alexander Lippisch (1894–1976) * Claude Lipscomb (1887–1974) – designer of the Short Stirling * Boris Lisunov (1898–1946) – engineered a copy of the DC-3 * William Littlewood – contributed to the design and operational requirements of transport aircraft *

Allan Lockheed Allan Haines Lockheed (né Allan Haines Loughead; January 20, 1889 – May 26, 1969) was an American aviation engineer and business man. He formed the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company along with his brother, Malcolm Loughead, that became Lockheed Co ...

(1889–1969) – co-founder of the

Lockheed Corporation The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but ot ...

* Malcolm Lockheed (1886–1958) – co-founder of the Lockheed Corporation *

Grover Loening Grover Cleveland Loening (September 12, 1888 – February 29, 1976) was an American aircraft manufacturer. Biography Loening was born in Bremen, in what was then Imperial Germany, on September 12, 1888, while his American-born father was statione ...

(1888–1976) – awarded first ever degree in aeronautical engineering * Robert Loewy (born 1926) – rotor-wing VTOL aircraft designer *

Roy LoPresti LeRoy Patrick "Roy" LoPresti (June 9, 1929 – August 7, 2002) was an eclectic American aeronautical engineer. He worked on projects as diverse as the Apollo Moon Program and missile design, served as advisor to the US Congress, became as "Mr ...

(1929–2002) – general aviation designer * Samuel Jasper Loring (1914–1963) – researched aeroelastic flutter problems *

George Low George Michael Low (born Georg Michael Löw, June 10, 1926 – July 17, 1984) was an administrator at NASA and the 14th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Low was one of the senior NASA officials who made numerous decisions as m ...

(1926–1984) – aerodynamicist and NASA administrator *

Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy Gleb Evgeniyevich Lozino-Lozinskiy (russian: Глеб Евгеньевич Лозино-Лозинский), (Kiev, Russian Empire (now Kyiv, Ukraine), December 25, 1909 – Moscow, November 28, 2001) was a Russian and UkrainianВіталій Аб ...

(1909–2001) – General Designer of the NPO Molniya design bureau, lead designer of the Buran space shuttle *

Heinrich Lübbe Heinrich Lübbe (; 12 January 1884 in Nienburg, Province of Hanover – 14 March 1940 in Berlin) was a German engineer working for Dutch aircraft designer Anthony Fokker during the First World War. He devised the pioneering ''Stangensteuerun ...

(1884–1940) – Anthony Fokker collaborator *

Glynn Lunney Glynn Stephen Lunney (November 27, 1936 – March 19, 2021) was an American NASA engineer. An employee of NASA since its creation in 1958, Lunney was a flight director during the Gemini and Apollo programs, and was on duty during historic even ...

(1936–2021) – Apollo program *

Robert Lusser Robert Lusser (19 April 1899 – 19 January 1969) was a German engineer, aircraft designer and aviator. He is remembered both for several well-known Messerschmitt and Heinkel designs during World War II, and after the war for his theoretical study o ...

(1899–1969) – designer at Messerschmitt, Heinkel, and Fieseler *

Arkhip Lyulka Arkhip Mikhailovich Lyul'ka (''Russian'': Архи́п Миха́йлович Лю́лька, '' Ukrainian'': Архип Михайлович Люлька) (1908–1984) was a Soviet scientist and designer of jet engines, head of the OKB Lyulka, ...

(1908–1984)

M

Paul MacCready Paul B. MacCready Jr. (September 25, 1925 – August 28, 2007) was an American aeronautical engineer. He was the founder of AeroVironment and the designer of the human-powered aircraft that won the first Kremer prize. He devoted his life to dev ...

(1925–2007) * Elsie MacGill (1905–1980) * Ernst Mach (1838–1916) *

Georg Hans Madelung Georg Hans Madelung (31 July 1889 in Rostock – 17 August 1972 in Uffing) was a German academic and aeronautical engineer. Madelung studied at several German Technical Universities before his service as a pilot in the First World War. After ...

(1889–1972) – V-1 designer * (1880–1944) – inventor of the Junkers flap * Peyton M. Magruder (1911–1982) – lead designer of the Martin B-26 *

Viktor Makeyev Viktor Petrovich Makeyev (also Makeev; russian: Ви́ктор Петро́вич Маке́ев; 25 October 1924 – 25 October 1985) was a Soviet engineer in the Soviet space program who was also a central and founding figure in development ...

(1924–1985) –

SLBM A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhe ...

designer *

Frank Malina Frank Joseph Malina (October 2, 1912 — November 9, 1981) was an American aeronautical engineer and painter, especially known for becoming both a pioneer in the art world and the realm of scientific engineering. Early life Malina was born in B ...

(1912–1981) – Rocket engineer, JPL administrator * John C. Mankins – NASA space-based solar power researcher * Frank E. Marble (1918–2014) * Frederick Marriott (1805–1884) * Glenn L. Martin (1886–1955) – founder of the Glenn L. Martin Company * (1900–1984) – co-designer of the Fouga CM.170 Magister * Hans Mauch (1906–1984) – jet engine pioneer, artificial limb developer *

Mark D. Maughmer Mark D. Maughmer (born January 18, 1950) is a professor of Aerospace Engineering in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University. He is a widely published author known throughout the world as one of the leading aero ...

(born 1950) – aerodynamicist * Owen Maynard (1924–2000) – Avro Canada, NASA * –

Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo ...

chief engineer * William C. McCool (1961–2003) – died in the ''Columbia'' disaster *

James Smith McDonnell James Smith "Mac" McDonnell (April 9, 1899 – August 22, 1980) was an American aviator, engineer, and businessman. He was an aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, later McDonnell Douglas, and the James S. McDonn ...

(1899–1980) – founder of

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom I ...

* Colin R. McInnes (born 1968) – solar sail researcher * Marion O. McKinney Jr. (1921–1999) – NACA and NASA engineer, researched VTOL flight * George J. Mead (1891–1949) – engine designer * William C. Mentzer (1907–1971) – contributed to aircraft maintenance and economics * Wilhelm Messerschmitt (1898–1978) – designed Bf 109 and jet powered Me 262 *

Artem Mikoyan Artem (Artyom) Ivanovich Mikoyan (russian: Артём Ива́нович Микоя́н; hy, Արտյոմ (Անուշավան) Հովհաննեսի Միկոյան, translit=''Artyom (Anushavan) Hovhannesi Mikoyan''; – 9 December 1970) was a ...

(1905–1970) – cofounder of the MiG design bureau *

Mikhail Mil Mikhail Leontyevich Mil (russian: Михаи́л Лео́нтьевич Миль; 22 November 1909 – 31 January 1970) was a Russian aerospace engineer and scientist. He was the founder and general designer of the Mil Moscow Helicopter Pla ...

(1909–1970) – founder and general designer of the

Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant (russian: Московский вертолётный завод им. М.Л. Миля) is a Soviet, and later a Russian designer and producer of helicopters headquartered in Tomilino. It is a subsidiary of Russian Heli ...

Alexander Mikulin Alexander Alexandrovich Mikulin (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Мику́лин) (February 14 ( O.S. February 2), 1895, Vladimir – May 13, 1985, Moscow) was a Soviet Russian aircraft engine designer and chief desig ...

(1895–1985) – engine designer, founded the Mikulin design bureau *

Frederick George Miles Frederick George Miles (22 March 1903 – 15 August 1976) was a British aircraft designer and manufacturer who designed numerous light civil and military aircraft and a range of prototypes. The name "Miles" is associated with two distinct compan ...

(1903–1976) – designer at

Miles Aircraft Miles was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother George Herbert ...

, husband of Maxine Blossom Miles * John W. Miles (1920–2008) - pioneer in theoretical fluid mechanics * Maxine Blossom Miles (1901–1984) – pilot, designer, draughtswoman, aerodynamicist and stress engineer, designer of the Miles Hawk * Arseny Mironov (1917–2019) – Russian scientist, aerospace engineer and aircraft pilot * Don Mitchell (1915-1993) - sailplane designer * R. J. Mitchell (1895–1937) – designed the

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

aircraft * Paul Moller – circular aircraft designer *

Montgolfier brothers The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune A ...

(1740–1810) (1745–1799) – inventors of the hot air balloon *

John J. Montgomery John Joseph Montgomery (February 15, 1858 – October 31, 1911) was an American inventor, physicist, engineer, and professor at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, who is best known for his invention of controlled heavier-than-air ...

(1858–1911) * Albert Mooney (1906–1986) – general aviation designer *

Hans Moravec Hans Peter Moravec (born November 30, 1948, Kautzen, Austria) is an adjunct faculty member at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA. He is known for his work on robotics, artificial intelligence, and writings ...

(born 1948) – space tether developer * Morien Morgan (1912–1978) – 'Father of the

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

' * George Mueller (1918–2015) – NASA administrator *

Alan Mulally Alan Roger Mulally (born August 4, 1945) is an American aerospace engineer and manufacturing executive. He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford Motor Company on July 1, 2014. Ford ...

(born 1945) – Boeing executive and President of

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

* Hans Multhopp (1913–1972) *

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The ...

(born 1971) – founder of SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla *

Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev (russian: Владимир Михайлович Мясищев) (September 28, 1902 in Yefremov – October 14, 1978 in Moscow) was a Soviet aircraft designer, Major General of Engineering (1944), Hero of Socia ...

(1902–1978) – founder of the Myasishchev design bureau

N

Aleksandr Nadiradze Aleksandr Davidovich Nadiradze ( ka, ალექსანდრე ნადირაძე, russian: Александр Давидович Надирадзе 20 August 1914 – 3 September 1987) was a Soviet engineer of Georgian ethnicity who ...

(1914–1987) – Soviet Georgian ballistic missile and rocket engineer *

James C. Nance James Clark "Jim" Nance (August 27, 1893 – September 3, 1984) was a leader for 40 years in the Oklahoma Legislature in the U.S. state of Oklahoma and was community newspaper chain publisher 66 years. Nance served as Speaker of the Oklahoma H ...

(1927-2019) - Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion engineer *

Gerhard Neumann Gerhard Neumann (October 8, 1917 – November 2, 1997) was an American aviation engineer and executive for General Electric's aircraft engine division (which today is called GE Aviation). Born and raised in Germany, he went to China shortly be ...

(1917–1997) – engineer for

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

, contributed to the design of the

J79 The General Electric J79 is an axial-flow turbojet engine built for use in a variety of fighter and bomber aircraft and a supersonic cruise missile. The J79 was produced by General Electric Aircraft Engines in the United States, and under lice ...

* Édouard Nieuport (1875–1911) – aviation pioneer * John Dudley North (1893–1968) – chief engineer at

Boulton Paul Aircraft Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that was incorporated in 1934, although its origins in aircraft manufacturing began earlier in 1914, and lasted until 1961. The company mainly built and modified aircraft under co ...

* Robert B. C. Noorduyn (1893–1959) –

Noorduyn Norseman The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable. Intr ...

designer * Jack Northrop (1895–1981) – founded

Northrop Corporation Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Sp ...

in 1939 and later the Flying Wing

O

* Hermann Oberth (1894–1989) - rocketry pioneer * Wendy Okolo (born 1984?) - NASA engineer * Gerard K. O'Neill (1927–1992) – developer of the

O'Neill cylinder An O'Neill cylinder (also called an O'Neill colony) is a space settlement concept proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book '' The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space''. O'Neill proposed the colonization of space for ...

for space colonization * –

P

* Frederick Page (1917–2005) – lead designer of the

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...

and the

BAC TSR-2 The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 is a cancelled Cold War strike and reconnaissance aircraft developed by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The TSR-2 was designed ...

Thomas O. Paine Thomas Otten Paine (November 9, 1921 – May 4, 1992) was an American engineer, scientist and advocate of space exploration, and was the third Administrator of NASA, serving from March 21, 1969, to September 15, 1970. During his administratio ...

(1921–1992) – engineer, scientist, NASA administrator * (1904–1952) *

Paul C. Paris Paul Croce Paris (August 7, 1930 - January 15, 2017) was an American academic, engineering consultant and researcher in the field of mechanics and Fatigue (material), fatigue. He was known particularly for introducing fracture mechanics methods to ...

(1930–2017) – known for introducing fracture mechanics to the aviation industry * Bob Parkinson (born 1941) –

HOTOL HOTOL, for Horizontal Take-Off and Landing, was a 1980s British design for a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) spaceplane that was to be powered by an airbreathing jet engine. Development was being conducted by a consortium led by Rolls-Royce and ...

spaceplane developer * Jack Parsons (1914–1952) – rocket engineer, chemist, JPL founder * Nicolas Roland Payen (1914–2004) – delta wing developer *

Richard Pearse Richard William Pearse (3 December 187729 July 1953) was a New Zealand farmer and inventor who performed pioneering aviation experiments. Witnesses interviewed many years afterward describe observing Pearse flying and landing a powered heavie ...

(1877–1953) – early

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

aircraft builder *

Jerome Pearson Jerome Pearson (19 April 1938 - 27 Jan 2021) was an American engineer and space scientist best known for his work on space elevators, including a lunar space elevator. He was president of STAR, Inc., and has developed aircraft and spacecraft te ...

(1938–2021) – space elevator developer *

George Edward Pendray George Edward Pendray (May 19, 1901 – September 15, 1987) was an American public relations counselor, author, foundation executive, and an early advocate of rockets and spaceflight. He was associated with Robert H. Goddard and helped org ...

(1901–1987) - co-founder of Reaction Motors * Harald Penrose (1904–1996) – test pilot and glider designer *

Vladimir Petlyakov Vladimir Mikhailovich Petlyakov (russian: Влади́мир Миха́йлович Петляко́в; 15 June 1891 – 12 January 1942) was a Soviet aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer. Petlyakov was born in 1891 in Sambek (Don Host O ...

(1891–1942) - founder of the Petlyakov design bureau * W. E. W. (Teddy) Petter (1908–1968) – designer at Westland, English Electric, and Folland *

Frank Piasecki Frank Nicolas Piasecki ( ; ; October 24, 1919 – February 11, 2008) was an American engineer and helicopter aviation pioneer. Piasecki pioneered tandem rotor helicopter designs and created the compound helicopter concept of vectored thrust using ...

(1919–2008) – helicopter pioneer *

William Hayward Pickering William Hayward Pickering (24 December 1910 – 15 March 2004) was a New Zealand-born aerospace engineer who headed Pasadena, California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 22 years, retiring in 1976. He was a senior NASA luminary and pione ...

(1910–2004) - rocketry pioneer, JPL director * Percy Pilcher (1867–1899) *

Harold Frederick Pitcairn Harold Frederick Pitcairn (June 20, 1897 – April 23, 1960) was an American aviation inventor and pioneer. He played a key role in the development of the autogyro and founded the Autogiro Company of America. He patented a number of innovations ...

(1897–1960) – autogyro developer * Curtis Pitts (1915–2005) *

Paul Poberezny Paul Howard Poberezny (September 14, 1921 – August 22, 2013) was an American aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting hom ...

(1921–2013) – founder of the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...

* Hermann Pohlmann (1894–1991) – designer of the Ju-87 Stuka *

Nikolai Polikarpov Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Полика́рпов; – 30 July 1944) was a Soviet aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer, known as the "King of Fighters". He designed the I-15 series of ...

(1892–1944) – founded the Polikarpov design bureau *

Boris Popov Boris Nikitich Popov (russian: Борис Никитич Попов, born 21 March 1941) is a Russian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1964 Summer Olympics. Career In 1964 he was a member of the Soviet team whic ...

– invented one of the first successful aircraft

ballistic parachute A ballistic parachute, ballistic reserve parachute, or emergency ballistic reserve parachute, is a parachute ejected from its casing by a small explosion, much like that used in an ejection seat. The advantage of the ballistic parachute over a co ...

systems *

Henry Potez Henry Potez ( Méaulte, 30 September 1891 – Paris, 9 November 1981) was a French aircraft industrialist. He studied in the French Aeronautics School '' Supaéro''. With Marcel Dassault, he was the inventor of the Potez-Bloch propeller which, a ...

(1891–1981) * Herman Potočnik (1892–1929) *

Ludwig Prandtl Ludwig Prandtl (4 February 1875 – 15 August 1953) was a German fluid dynamicist, physicist and aerospace scientist. He was a pioneer in the development of rigorous systematic mathematical analyses which he used for underlying the science of ...

(1875–1953) * Ronald F. Probstein (1928–2021) – researched hypersonics including re-entry vehicle design * Ralph V. Pruitt (1936–1983) – integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays * Palmer Cosslett Putnam (1900–1984) - wind-power pioneer

Q

Qian Xuesen Qian Xuesen, or Hsue-Shen Tsien (; 11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009), was a Chinese mathematician, cyberneticist, aerospace engineer, and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineer ...

(1911–2009)

R

Arthur Emmons Raymond Arthur Emmons Raymond (March 24, 1899 in Boston Massachusetts – March 22, 1999 in Santa Monica, California) was an aeronautical engineer who led the team that designed the DC-3. Raymond grew up in Pasadena, California, the son of the owner of ...

(1899–1999) – lead designer of the

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

* R. Dale Reed (1930–2005) – NASA lifting body designer * Wendell E. Reed – developed jet engine controls *

Wilfrid Thomas Reid Wilfrid Thomas Reid (4 March 1887 – 5 April 1968) was an English aircraft designer and considered one of the pioneers of the Canadian aircraft industry. Reid was born on 4 March 1887 in Battersea, Surrey. He died in Newton Abbot, Devon, o ...

(1887–1968) *

Frederick Rentschler Frederick Brant Rentschler (November 8, 1887 – April 25, 1956) was an American aircraft engine designer, aviation engineer, industrialist, and the founder of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. Rentschler created and manufactured many revolution ...

(1887–1956) – aircraft engine designer *

Judith Resnik Judith Arlene Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot and NASA astronaut who died in the Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster. She was the fourth woman, ...

(1949–1986) *

Osborne Reynolds Osborne Reynolds (23 August 1842 – 21 February 1912) was an Irish-born innovator in the understanding of fluid dynamics. Separately, his studies of heat transfer between solids and fluids brought improvements in boiler and condenser design. ...

(1842–1912) * Richard V. Rhode (1904–1994) – researched aerodynamic loading * (1906–1981) – designer at Bréguet Aviation * Ben Rich (1925–1995) – director of Lockheed's

; contributed to SR-71 and

F-117 The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircr ...

development * G. Tilghman Richards (1884–1960) – annular wing designer * John M. Riebe (1921–2011) *

Norbert Riedel Norbert Riedel (* 1 April 1912 in Jägerndorf, Sudetenland, then Austria-Hungary; † 24 February 1963 in Zürs am Arlberg, Austria) was an engineer and entrepreneur. Life Riedel studied mechanical engineering and worked in the 1930s, first with ...

(1912–1963) – developed jet engine starting motors *

Robert brothers Les Frères Robert were two French brothers. Anne-Jean Robert (1758–1820) and Nicolas-Louis Robert (1760–1820) were the engineers who built the world's first hydrogen balloon for professor Jacques Charles, which flew from central Paris o ...

(1758–1820) (1760–1820) – balloonists *

Tecwyn Roberts Tecwyn Roberts (10 October 1925 – 27 December 1988) was a Welsh spaceflight engineer who in the 1960s played important roles in designing the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas and creating NASA's worldw ...

(1925–1988) – Avro Canada, NASA * Frank D. Robinson (1930–2022) – helicopter designer *

Alliott Verdon Roe Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe OBE, Hon. FRAeS, FIAS (26 April 1877 – 4 January 1958) was a pioneer English pilot and aircraft manufacturer, and founder in 1910 of the Avro company. After experimenting with model aeroplanes, he made flight tr ...

(1877–1956) *

Francis Rogallo Francis Melvin Rogallo (January 27, 1912 – September 1, 2009) was an American aeronautical engineer inventor born in Sanger, California, U.S. Together with his wife, he is credited with the invention of the Rogallo wing, or "flexible w ...

(1912–2009) – NASA engineer, created the

Rogallo wing The Rogallo wing is a flexible type of wing. In 1948, Francis Rogallo, a NASA engineer, and his wife Gertrude Rogallo, invented a self-inflating flexible wing they called the Parawing, also known after them as the "Rogallo Wing" and flexible wing ...

which led to hang-gliding * Gertrude Rogallo (1914–2008) – wife and collaborator of Francis Rogallo * Harold Rosen (electrical engineer), Harold Rosen (1926–2017) – electrical engineer known as "the father of the geostationary satellite" * Milton Rosen (1915–2014) – lead designer of the Vanguard (rocket), Vanguard rocket * Jan Roskam (1930–2022) * Ludwig Roth (1909–1967) * Carlo Rubbia (born 1934) – fission-fragment rocket proposer * Edward J. Ruppelt (1923–1960) – director of Project Blue Book * Archibald Russell (1904–1995) – designed the Concorde, Blenheim, Britannia, and Type 188 * Burt Rutan (born 1943) – airplane and spacecraft designer * Tubal Claude Ryan (1898–1982) – founder of the Ryan Aeronautical Company * Yuri Alekseevich Ryzhov (1930–2017) – aerodynamicist

S

* Eugen Sänger (1905–1964) – Silbervogel, spaceplane designer * Irene Sänger-Bredt (1911–1983) – wife and collaborator of Eugen Sänger * George S. Schairer (1913–2004) – lead designer at Consolidated and Boeing * Helmut Schelp – jet engine pioneer * Alexander Schleicher (1901–1968) – sailplane designer * Paul Schmidt (inventor), Paul Schmidt – V-1 designer * Edgar Schmued (1899–1985) – lead engineer on the P-51, F-86, F-100, F-5, T-38 * Raemer Schreiber (1910–1998) – nuclear rocket engine designer * Schweizer brothers – sailplane designers * William T. Schwendler – co-founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation * Robert Seamans (1918–2008) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator * William R. Sears (1913–2002) – flying wing designer * Ernest Edwin Sechler (1905–1979) – researched thin-shell structures * Lucien Servanty (1909–1973) – SO.6000 Triton and Concorde designer * Alexander P. de Seversky (1894–1974) – founder of Seversky Aircraft, later Republic Aviation * Joseph Francis Shea (1925–1999) – NASA Administrator for the Apollo Program * Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990) – perfected the carburetor on the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine * Leonid Shkadov (1927–2003) – aircraft development and optimization engineer * Nevil Shute (1899–1960) – aeronautical engineer and author * Igor Sikorsky (1889–1972) – pioneered helicopters * Ozires Silva (born 1931) – founder of Embraer * Abe Silverstein (1908–2001) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator * Herbert Smith (engineer), Herbert Smith (1889–1977) – designer of the Sopwith Triplane * Joseph Smith (aircraft designer), Joseph Smith (1897–1956) – designer at Supermarine * Ted R. Smith (1906–1976) – designer of the Aero Commander and Piper Aerostar, Aerostar * Thomas Sopwith (1888–1989) – Sopwith Aviation Company * Percival H. Spencer (1897–1995) – designer of the Republic RC-3 Seabee * Reginald Stafford (1903–1980) – designer of the Handley Page Victor * John Stack (engineer), John Stack (1906–1972) – Bell X-1 designer * Lloyd Stearman (1898–1975) – founder of Stearman Aircraft * Alan Stern (born 1957) – engineer and planetary scientist, principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto * Homer Joseph Stewart (1915–2007) - helped develop Explorer 1, Pioneer 4, and several rockets * Edward Stinson (1893–1932) – founder of the Stinson Aircraft Company * Harrison Storms (1915–1992) – directed North American Aviation's Apollo Program * Ernst Stuhlinger (1913–2008) – ion engine developer * Pavel Sukhoi (1895–1975) – founded the Sukhoi design bureau * Joe Sutter (1921–2016) – chief engineer for the Boeing 747 * - aerodynamicist * Victor Szebehely (1921–1977) – aerospace engineering and celestial mechanics

T

* Max Taitz (1904–1980) – scientist in aerodynamics and flight testing of aircraft, one of the founders of Gromov Flight Research Institute * Kurt Tank (1898–1983) – designer of aircraft in Germany, Argentina, and India * Clarence Gilbert Taylor (1898–1988) – designer of the Piper Cub * Moulton Taylor (1912–1965) – experimental aircraft pioneer * Theodore Theodorsen (1897–1978) – aerodynamicist at NACA * Richard G. Thomas (1930–2006) - aeronautical engineer and test pilot * Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900–1974) - rocket and spacecraft pioneer * Grigori Tokaty (1909–2003) - rocket engineer * Alessandro Tonini (1885–1932) - designer at Gabardini, Macchi, and IMAM * Myron Tribus (1921–2016) - deicer developer, heat transfer researcher * Richard Truly (born 1937) – former astronaut and head of NASA * Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) - rocketry pioneer * Sergey Tumansky (1901–1973) - engine designer, founder of the Tumansky design bureau * Andrei Tupolev (1888–1972) – founder of Tupolev, OKB Tupolev

U

* Ralph Hazlett Upson (1888–1968) - designed the world's only all-metal stressed-skin airship * Oskar Ursinus (1877–1952) - sailplane designer

V

* Sitaram Rao Valluri (1924–2019)[2] - researched metal fatigue * Kermit Van Every (1915–1998) - high speed aircraft designer, Douglas Aircraft * Richard VanGrunsven (born 1939) – prolific kit aircraft engineer * Vladimir Vetchinkin (1888-1950) - aerodynamicist * Walter G. Vincenti (1917–2019) - hypersonic aircraft designer * Aurel Vlaicu (1882–1913) * Richard Vogt (aircraft designer), Richard Vogt (1894-1979) - designer of asymmetrical aircraft * Gabriel Voisin (1880–1973) - aviation pioneer * George Volkert (1891–1978) - designed the Handley-Page Halifax * Wernher von Braun (1912–1977) – German rocket pioneer * Theodore von Kármán (1881–1963) * Hans von Ohain (1911–1998) * Fritz von Opel (1899–1971) - rocketry pioneer * Chance M. Vought (1890-1930) - founder of Vought, Vought Aircraft * Traian Vuia (1872–1950) – first flight with no other ground devices

W

* Gerhard Waibel (engineer), Gerhard Waibel (born 1938) – sailplane designer * Dwane Wallace (1911–1989) – early Cessna CEO and designer * Richard Walker (engineer), Richard Walker (1900–1982) - main designer for jet aircraft of Gloster Aircraft Company * Barnes Wallis, Sir Barnes Wallis (1887–1979) * Ken Wallis (1916–2013) – autogyro * Hellmuth Walter (1900–1980) – rocket engines * Joseph F. Ware Jr. (1916–2012) - Lockheed engineer and test pilot * Edward Pearson Warner (1894–1958) - NACA research engineer * Kyūichirō Washizu (1921–1981) * Frank Wattendorf (1906—1986) - von Karman assistant, wind tunnel designer * Johanna Weber (1910–2014) - aerodynamicist for the Handley-Page Victor and

* Fred Weick (1899–1993) - airmail pilot, NACA research engineer who designed the NACA cowl, and designer of the Ercoupe and Piper Cherokee * Günter Wendt (1924–2010) – McDonnell Aircraft and North American Aviation engineer; pad leader, prepared all crewed Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft * Daniel Weihs (born 1942) * Edward Curtis Wells (1910–1986) - Boeing executive and designer * Ted A. Wells (1907–1991) - co-founder of Beech Aircraft Corporation * Michael J. Wendl (born 1934) - developed terrain following technology, energy management theory, and integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays * Alexander Weygers (1901–1989) - discopter designer * Ray Wheeler (1927-2019) - Saunders-Roe designer of rockets and hovercraft * Orville A. Wheelon (1906–1966) - invented the Verson-Wheelon process for aircraft sheet-metal forming, introduced titanium fabrication * Richard T. Whitcomb, Richard Whitcomb (1921–2009) - NACA/NASA inventor of the area rule, supercritical airfoil, and winglet * Ed White (astronaut), Ed White (1930–1967) – Apollo 1 fire victim on January 27, 1967 * Gustave Whitehead (1874–1927) - aviation pioneer * Frank Whittle (1907–1996) – pioneer of the jet engine * Michel Wibault (1897-1963) - invented vectored thrust * Robert H. Widmer (1916–2011) - lead designer on the B-36, B-58, F-111, and F-16 * Sheila Widnall (born 1938) - fluid mechanics researcher * Stanisław Wigura (1901–1932) * Geoff Wilde (1917–2007) - Rolls-Royce engine designer * Heather Willauer (born 1974) - United States Naval Research Laboratory researcher of jet fuel manufacture from seawater * Oswald S. Williams Jr. (1921–2005) * Sam B. Williams (1921–2009) - small fanjet engine developer * Thornton Wilson (1921–1999) - B-47, B-52, and Minuteman missile designer * Steve Wittman (1904–1995) – air-racer and aircraft designer * Julian Wolkovitch (1932–1991) - promoted the closed wing * Homer J. Wood - auxiliary power unit designer * Pete Worden (born 1949) – NASA director * Wright brothers (1871–1948) (1867–1912) – made first powered airplane flight on Dec 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC * Theodore Paul Wright (1895–1970) - engineer and administrator * Georg Wulf (1895-1927) - aviation pioneer * James Hart Wyld (1912–1954) - co-founder of Reaction Motors, designed the rocket engines for the Bell X-1 and RTV-A-2 Hiroc

Y

* Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev (1906–1989) – founder of Yakovlev, OKB Yakovlev * Mikhail Yangel (1911–1971) - founded the OKB-586 design bureau * Chuck Yeager (1923–2020) – test pilot and first to break the sound barrier * Ed Yost (1919–2007) - developer of the modern hot air balloon * Arthur M. Young (1905–1995) - designer of the first Bell helicopter

Z

* Stephen Joseph Zand (1898–1963) - solved many early aviation vibrations problems * Friedrich Zander (1887–1933) - rocket designer, solar sail and gavitational assist developer * Filippo Zappata (1894–1994) - worked for Gabardini, Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CANT), Blériot, Breda, and Agusta * Engelbert Zaschka (1895–1955) – one of the first German helicopter pioneers * Helmut Zborowski (1905–1969) - rocket and VTOL designer * Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917) * Nikolay Zhukovsky (scientist), Nikolay Zhukovsky (1847-1921) - researcher * Henri Ziegler (1906–1998) – father of the Airbus program * Charles H. Zimmerman (1908–1996) - experimental aircraft designer * Robert Zubrin (born 1952) - Mars Society founder, designer of the theoretical nuclear salt-water rocket

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Aerospace Engineers Lists of engineers, Aerospace engineers Lists of space scientists, Aerospace Aerospace engineers, * Aircraft designers, *

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