The Aero Club of Washington Orville and Wilbur Wright
Centurions of Aviation
To commemorate the Centennial of the Aero Club of Washington (1909-2009), the Board selected a representative individual from each decade since the establishment of the Aero Club in 1909. Those selected represent, in broad relief, the ideals, the membership, the diversity, and the ingenuity that has marked the Aero Club of Washington since its establishment.
The Aero Club of Washington honors the brothers who first took a self-propelled, heavier-than-air, controllable aeroplane from the windswept sand dunes of Kitty Hawk into the crisp morning air for the very first time, by naming the Centurion's list after them. For demonstrating ingenuity, determination, courage, patience, and skill that set the standard for those giants who have followed the path to aviation greatness, we hereby proclaim that these ten intrepid individuals—one representing each decade of flight since 1909—shall be known hereafter as The Aero Club of Washington Orville and Wilbur Wright Centurions of Aviation.
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NOVEMBER CENTURION
1999-2009
Sally Ride
(Astronaut, First American Woman in Space)
Physicist, Astronaut, Author, Educator
Sally K. Ride (Ph.D.) graduated from Stanford University earning a bachelor of science in Physics and a bachelor of arts in English (1973), and then a master of science (1975) and doctorate in Physics (1978).She was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1978.
Dr. Ride was a mission specialist on STS-7, which launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on June 18, 1983. This was the second flight for the Orbiter Challenger and the first mission with a 5-person crew. During the mission, the STS-7 crew deployed satellites; operated the Canadian-built Remote Manipulator System (RMS) to perform the first deployment and retrieval exercise with the Shuttle Pallet Satellite; conducted the first formation flying of the orbiter with a free-flying satellite; and conducted many scientific experiments. Mission duration was 147 hours before landing on a lakebed runway at Edwards Air Force Base, California .
Dr. Ride served as a mission specialist on STS 41-G, which launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on October 5, 1984. This was the largest crew (7) to fly to that date. Their 8-day mission deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite, conducted scientific observations of the earth with the OSTS-3 pallet and Large Format Camera, as well as demonstrating potential satellite refueling with an EVA and associated hydrazine transfer. Mission duration was 197 hours and concluded with a landing at Kennedy Space Center , Florida , on October 13, 1984.
In June 1985 Dr. Ride was assigned to the crew of STS 61-M. Mission but training was terminated in January 1986 following the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. Ride served as a member of the Presidential Commission investigating the accident. Upon completion of the investigation she was assigned to NASA Headquarters as Special Assistant to the Administrator for long range and strategic planning.
In 1989, Dr. Ride joined the faculty at UCSD as a Professor of Physics and Director of the California Space Institute. In 2001 she founded her own company, Sally Ride Science , to pursue her long-time passion of motivating girls and young women to pursue careers in science, math and technology.
Long an advocate for improved science education, Dr. Ride has written five science books for children: To Space and Back; Voyager; The Third Planet; The Mystery of Mars; and Exploring Our Solar System . She has also initiated and directed education projects designed to fuel middle school students' fascination with science.
Dr. Ride is the only person to have served on the Commissions investigating both the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia accidents.
Dr. Ride has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, the Astronaut Hall of Fame, and has received the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the von Braun Award, and the Lindbergh Eagle. She has also twice been awarded the NASA Space Flight Medal.
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OCTOBER CENTURION
1989-1998
General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle
(Lifetime Aerial Achievement)
Test Pilot, Combat Leader, Doctor of Aeronautics, Businessman
On a list of great names in American aviation history, there are none whose lives entwine with the aerospace science and aviation technology revolution more completely, and on such a broad scale, than James Harold Doolittle (1886-1993)—a Renaissance Man of the 20 th century.
Learning to fly during the First World War, Doolittle mastered the operation of the earliest military air machines. He taught others to fly in the Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” where he escaped death in the skies by the narrowest of margins. He played a minor role in Billy Mitchell's 1921 bombing tests where the dominance of the battleship was challenged for the first time. He earned the first D.Sc. (Doctor of Science) in Aeronautical Engineering ever awarded from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1925. While there, he studied and documented the effects of wind on the operation of aircraft. Later, Doolittle used that study to complete the first “blind flight” in history—taking off, flying a prescribed course, and landing without looking outside of his cockpit. This achievement altered the course of aviation for all time. While he advanced basic instrument flying, a task oriented to concentration and precision, he also broke speed and distance records, won air races, and earned the accolades that came from each.
He ventured into the civilian sector where, at the Shell Petroleum Corporation, he convinced the military and his bosses that high-octane fuel was crucial to superior aircraft performance. He and his bosses sold the idea to other nations. There were some in the Royal Air Force (RAF) who believed that the development of such fuels insured victory during the Battle of Britain.
Recognizing the peril of a remilitarized Germany , Doolittle volunteered to rejoin the air arm. There he worked directly for the Commanding General, Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, as a staff officer.
Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle was charged to accomplish one of the most daring and dangerous aerial missions ever attempted—even to this day. The 1942 Tokyo Raid was the ultimate demonstration of preparation, flexibility, improvisation, and courage undertaken by the wizard of the air and the men that he commanded. Moreover, the raid fulfilled FDR's commandment to strike the Japanese in their national heart. The tremendous strategic success of the raid was only realized later in the war. That one-way mission earned Doolittle the Congressional Medal of Honor and a jump-promotion to Brigadier General.
Even before the newspaper headlines had dwindled, Doolittle was on his way to Europe . There he would rise to command the largest single operational Air Force in existence at the most critical of times—The Mighty Eighth. His most crucial engagement occurred during February 1944, “Big Week,” where the momentum of the air war against Germany was wrested from them, once and for all.
Doolittle's Eighth Air Force was sent to the Pacific after VE Day. While establishing his command there, the war ended. Doolittle stood on the deck of the battleship Missouri as the Japanese signed the unconditional surrender papers under General Douglas Macarthur's glare. These things Jimmy Doolittle accomplished in only the first half of his life.
After military retirement, he continued his participation as an advisor, engineer, scientist, and airpower advocate. He kept close ties to the U.S. Air Force and served as the chairman of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board in the late 1950s. This science and technology committee provided counsel directly to the Chief of Staff. He was also the first president of the Air Force Association, the political lobby for the U.S. Air Force in Washington , DC .
Doolittle returned to civilian life and held positions at Shell Petroleum, as chairman of the NACA, as a board member for the Mutual of Omaha insurance company, and as a participant on dozens of commissions and study groups. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan promoted Doolittle to four-star rank, making him the only reserve officer so honored. In 1989, He received America 's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal Of Freedom. He remains the only American to have been awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Medal of Freedom.
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SEPTEMBER CENTURION
1979-1988
Herbert D. Kelleher
(Commercial Aviation Innovator)
Herbert D. Kelleher is the co-founder, Chairman and former CEO of Southwest Airlines.
Kelleher was born and raised in Haddon Heights , New Jersey . He has a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and a law degree from New York University . Kelleher and one of his law clients, Texas businessman Rollin King, created the concept that later became Southwest Airlines on a cocktail napkin in a Texas restaurant. From its birth in 1971—after overcoming a year's worth of legal challenges from fearful airline competitors—Southwest succeeded by “daring to be different”: offering low fares to its passengers by eliminating unnecessary services and avoiding the outmoded "hub-and-spoke" scheduling system used by other airlines, by building traffic into such secondary airports as Albany, Midway and Orange County.
During his tenure as CEO of Southwest, Kelleher's colorful personality created a corporate culture making Southwest employees well-known for taking themselves lightly, but their jobs seriously: Southwest has never had an in-flight fatality and is consistently named among the top five Most Admired Corporations in America in Fortune magazine's annual poll.
Kelleher displayed the passion, irreverence, and “can-do” attitude that has characterized the rise of Southwest from long shot to long-term success in a business that is notorious for its volatile financial turmoil. The airline has grown from serving three cities with three Boeing 737s in 1971 to 35,000 employees and 375 Boeing 737s by 2002.
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JULY/AUGUST CENTURION
1969-1978
Neil A. Armstrong
(First Man on the Moon, Apollo XI)
Test Pilot, Astronaut, Educator
Neil A. Armstrong developed an interest in flying at an early age. His love of airplanes began when he took his first plane ride in a Ford Tri-Motor at the age of six. From then on, he was fascinated by aviation, received his Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University and his Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from University of Southern California . In 1949, the United States Navy called him to active duty and he served until 1952. He flew 78 combat missions in navy Panther jets during the Korean War.
Armstrong joined NACA, (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), NASA's predecessor, as a research pilot at the Lewis Laboratory in Cleveland and later transferred to the NACA High Speed Flight Station at Edwards AFB, California. He was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the 4,000 mph X-15. He has flown over 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders. In 1962, Armstrong was transferred to astronaut status. He served as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission, launched March 16, 1966, and performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space.
In 1969, Armstrong was commander of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, and became the first human to land a craft on the Moon and the first to step on its surface. On July 20, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle on the moon. Armstrong left the module and explored the lunar surface. Upon taking his first step onto the moon, he said: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
Armstrong subsequently held the position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA Headquarters Office of Advanced Research and Technology, from 1970 to 1971. He resigned from NASA in 1971. In 1986, he was named vice chairman of a presidential commission investigating the breakup of the space shuttle Challenger. From 1982 to 1992, Armstrong served as chairman of the board of Computing Technologies for Aviation, a company that develops software for flight scheduling. He is the recipient of the Presidential Medal for Freedom in 1969; the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy in 1970; the Robert J. Collier Trophy in 1969; and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, 1978. [NASA Photo]JUNE CENTURION
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. (Colonel, USMC, Ret.)
(Astronaut, First to Orbit Earth, 1962)
Marine, Astronaut, Businessman, Politician
View of Mercury-Atlas 6 astronaut John Glenn, in spacesuit and helmet, posed by the "Friendship 7" Mercury capsule; a technician can be seen working in hatchway of the capsule, Cape Canaveral , Florida , January 23, 1962.
NASA via National Air and Space Museum , Smithsonian Institution (SI 88-6821)
John Glenn entered the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in March 1942 and commissioned in the Marine Corps in 1943. After advanced training, he joined Marine Fighter Squadron 155 and spent a year flying F-4U fighters in the Marshall Islands . During his World War II service, he flew 59 combat missions. During the war in Korea , he flew 63 missions with Marine Fighter Squadron 311. Then, as an exchange pilot with the U.S. Air Force Glenn flew 27 missions in the in F-86 Sabre jet fighter in which he downed three enemy MiG's in combat along the Yalu River .
After Korea , Glenn became a naval test pilot. In July 1957, while project officer of the F8U Crusader, he set a transcontinental speed record from Los Angeles to New York , spanning the country in 3 hours and 23 minutes—the first transcontinental flight to average supersonic speed. Glenn has nearly 9,000 hours of flying time, with approximately 3,000 hours in jet aircraft.
Glenn was assigned to the NASA Space Task Group at Langley Research Center , Hampton , Virginia , in April 1959 after his selection as a Project Mercury Astronaut. The Space Task Group was moved to Houston and became part of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center in 1962.
On February 20, 1962, Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" spacecraft on the first manned orbital mission of the United States . Launched from Kennedy Space Center , Florida , he completed a successful three-orbit mission around the earth, reaching a maximum altitude of approximately 162 statute miles and an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour. Mission duration from launch to splashdown was nearly 5 hours.
He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in October 1964 and retired from the Marine Corps on January 1, 1965. He was a business executive from 1965 until his election to the United States Senate in November 1974.
STS-95 Discovery (October 29 to November 7, 1998) was a 9-day mission during which the crew supported a variety of research payloads including deployment of the Spartan solar-observing spacecraft, the Hubble Space Telescope Orbital Systems Test Platform, and investigations on space flight and the aging process. The mission was accomplished in 134 Earth orbits, traveling 3.6 million miles in 213 hours and 44 minutes. Glenn retired from the U.S. Senate in January 1999._________________________________
MAY CENTURION
1949-1958
Clarence “Kelly” Johnson
(Aircraft Designer, Lockheed Skunk Works)
Informal portrait of Clarence L. 'Kelly' Johnson standing next to the right wing tip of a Lockheed U-2A (s/n 56-6683, Article 350[?]\ r/n N-803X - later converted to U-2B). National Air and Space Museum , Smithsonian Institution (SI 92-4086).
Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson (February 27, 1910 – December 21, 1990) was an aircraft engineer and aeronautical innovator. As a member and first team leader of the Lockheed Skunk Works, Johnson worked for more than four decades and is said to have been an “organizing genius.” He played a leading role in the design of over forty aircraft including several that were honored with the prestigious Collier Trophy. Johnson acquired a reputation as one of the most talented and prolific aircraft design engineers in the history of aviation.
While at Lockheed, Johnson designed the P-38 Lightning fighter, made Fowler flaps work on the L-14 Super Electra, and played a major role in converting the type into the Royal Air Force's Lockheed Hudson on short notice in 1938. He worked on the development of the Constellation for Howard Hughes' TWA airline.
Johnson contributed to the design of the following Lockheed aircraft:
Orion 9D, Model 10 Electra/XC-35/C-36/Y1C-37, Model 12 Electra Junior, Model 14 Super Electra, Model 18 Lodestar, Model 22, PV-1 Ventura/B-37, P-38 Lightning, Constellation/Super Constellation, F-80 Shooting Star (the first successful American jet fighter); T-33/TV-2 trainers, P2V Neptune, XF-90, F-94 Starfire , X-7 , F-104 Starfighter, F-117A Nighthawk, C-130 Hercules, U-2, Blackbird family: A-12, YF-12, SR-71, M-21, and D-21; JetStar/C-140, and AH-56 Cheyenne.
Johnson's famed 'down-to-brass-tacks' management style was summed up by his motto:
"Be quick, be quiet, and be on time."
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APRIL CENTURION
1939-1948
General of the Air Force
Henry H. “Hap” Arnold
Hap Arnold in front of his B-17 “Argonaut” (USAF Image)
Henry "Hap" Arnold was one of our great commanders and directed more than 2.4 million Airmen and 300,000 aircraft during WW II. The only airman to hold five-star rank, he led the Army Air Forces through World War II with a strength, tenacity, and vision that was instrumental to victory, while at the same time breaking his own health.
Graduating from West Point in 1907, Arnold earnestly desired an assignment to the cavalry but instead was posted to the infantry. Despite exciting and formative experiences in the Philippines , he still hankered for the cavalry. Once again he was refused. He then transferred to the Signal Corps, and in 1911 he became one of our first military pilots.
Over the next three decades he became widely recognized as an outstanding aviator (he won the coveted Mackay Trophy twice), commander, and staff officer. When Oscar Westover, chief of the Air Corps, was killed in a plane crash in September 1938, Arnold took his place and led the air arm for the next seven years. But the long hours and incredible pace he set for himself took their toll. He suffered severe heart attacks during the war, and another in 1950 took his life.
A unique aspect of Arnold 's life was a singular appreciation for the integral relationship between science, technology, and airpower. Early in his career Arnold recognized that a second-rate air force was worse than none at all. The path to aviation leadership was a strong research-and-development program and a commitment to progress. Arnold s vision in this regard was extraordinary. He consciously pursued contacts with leading scientists, industrialists, and engineers, planting in them ideas and urging them to move more quickly and boldly. He supported research into cruise and ballistic missiles, precision weapons, jet engines, and rockets. There also existed a special relationship between Arnold and the brilliant aeronautical scientist Theodore von Kármán, who in 1945 wrote the seminal Toward New Horizons , a detailed look at the future of air and space technology that would serve as the blueprint for military research over the next two decades.
Arnold 's holistic approach to airpower was one of his great insights. He understood that it took more than a collection of military airplanes to generate airpower. Needed also were a strong industrial base, robust research and development, a broad aviation infrastructure, a large pool of qualified personnel, and, perhaps most importantly, a clearly devised, coherent, and codified doctrine for the employment of those assets. Arnold , believing unshakably in the importance of strategic airpower, labored to ensure that America possessed all of these necessary factors during WW II.__________________________
MARCH CENTURION
1929-1938
Daniel Guggenheim
Daniel Guggenheim (1856 – 1930), American industrialist and philanthropist
United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs Division under the digital ID ggbain.03559
Often, advances in aviation technology occur through the efforts of private citizens who maintain an interest in aviation and the financial means to bring them about independently. This occurred in the 1920s, when Daniel Guggenheim and his son Harry, two men who are generally not well known outside aviation history circles, contributed significantly to the growth of aviation and aviation technology in the United States . The two acted as catalysts for a number of significant technological advances that the aviation industry widely adopted and that would prove beneficial to everyone who flies today.
The Guggenheims were a wealthy family who made the bulk of their money from the mining industry. They believed they had an obligation to return to society some of the benefits from this very successful business, so in 1924, Daniel, one of 11 children, and his wife Florence established the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation to promote a variety of charitable and benevolent causes. Daniel never learned to fly but became interested in the airplane for both military and civilian purposes, particularly after his son, Harry, became a pilot during WW I. Between 1925 and 1930; the family invested more than $2.6 million in a series of aviation-related programs.
The Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics was formally established on June 16, 1926. Its major goals related to aeronautical education, aeronautical research, the development of commercial aircraft and aircraft equipment, and the application of aircraft to a variety of economic and social activities.
The Guggenheim Fund gave American aviation crucial support during its formative years when individuals could still impact the direction of an entire industry. It supported a wide range of scientific, educational, and social programs relating to aeronautics that stemmed from Daniel and Harry's enthusiasm about aviation and their desire to benefit society.
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FEBRUARY'S CENTURION
1919-1928
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh and his Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis "
Informal full length pose of Charles A. Lindbergh standing at right wing tip of his Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" (r/n N-X-211) (right side view of airplane). Propeller spinner not fitted. Probably taken at Roosevelt Field , NY in early May, 1927.
Photographer: Underwood & Underwood.
On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in history, flying his Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis " 5,810 kilometers (3,610 miles) between Roosevelt Field on Long Island , New York , and Paris , France , in 33 hours, 30 minutes. With this flight, Lindbergh won the $25,000 prize offered by New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first aviator to fly an aircraft directly across the Atlantic between New York and Paris . When he landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris , Lindbergh became a world hero who would remain in the public eye for decades. He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and a rare peacetime Special Congressional Medal of Honor for the event; and the citation reads:
For displaying heroic courage and skill as a navigator, at the risk of his life, by his nonstop flight in his airplane, the "Spirit of St. Louis," from New York City to Paris, France, 20-21 May 1927, by which Capt. Lindbergh not only achieved the greatest individual triumph of any American citizen but demonstrated that travel across the ocean by aircraft was possible.
The aftermath of the flight was the "Lindbergh boom" in aviation: aircraft industry stocks rose in value and interest in flying skyrocketed. Lindbergh's subsequent U.S. tour in the "Spirit of St. Louis" demonstrated the potential of the airplane as a safe, reliable mode of transportation. "Spirit of St. Louis" was named in honor of Lindbergh's supporters in St. Louis , Missouri , who paid for the aircraft. "NYP" is an acronym for "New York-Paris," the object of the flight.______________________________________
JANUARY'S CENTURION
1909-1918
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell, center, stands facing Frederick Walker "Casey" Baldwin; aircraft partially seen in background may be Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) Aerodrome No 2 White Wing; possibly at Hammondsport , New York , May 1908. National Air and Space Museum , Smithsonian Institution
Alexander Graham Bell (3 March 1847 – 2 August 1922) was an eminent scientist, inventor and innovator who is widely credited with inventing the first practical telephone. He was an inventor, Aero Club of Washington Founding Member, and Trustee on the First ACW Board of Managers.
Many other inventions marked Bell 's later life including work in aeronautics. In 1888, Alexander Graham Bell became one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society. In 1891, Bell had begun experiments to develop motor-powered heavier-than-air aircraft. The AEA was first formed as Bell shared the vision to fly with his wife, who advised him to seek "young" help as Alexander was already 60 years old.
Bell was a supporter of aerospace engineering research through the Aerial Experiment Association (AEA), officially formed at Baddeck , Nova Scotia , in October 1907 at the suggestion of Mrs. Mabel Bell and with her financial support. The AEA was headed by Bell and the founding members were Glenn H. Curtiss, Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, Frederick W. Baldwin, and J.A.D. McCurdy.
The AEA's work progressed to heavier-than-air machines, applying their knowledge of kites to gliders. Moving to Hammondsport, the group then designed and built the Red Wing , framed in bamboo and covered in red silk and powered by a small air-cooled engine. On 12 March 1908, over Keuka Lake, the biplane lifted off on the first public flight in North America . The innovations that were incorporated into this design included a cockpit enclosure and tail rudder (later variations on the original design would add ailerons as a means of control). One of the AEA project's inventions, the aileron, is a standard component of aircraft today. (The aileron was also invented independently by Robert Esnault-Pelterie.) The White Wing and June Bug were to follow and by the end of 1908, over 150 flights without mishap had been accomplished. However, the AEA had depleted its initial reserves and only a $10,000 grant from Mrs. Bell allowed it to continue with experiments.
Their final aircraft design, the Silver Dart embodied all of the advancements found in the earlier machines. On 23 February 1909, Bell was present as the Silver Dart flown by J.A.D. McCurdy made the first aircraft flight in Canada . With the successful flight, the AEA disbanded.