Pilots, Planes and Pioneers

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hile the Wright brothers may have been the first to make a sustained, controlled flight, they were just two among hundreds of brave men and women who helped to give the world its wings during the earliest days of aviation. Their Flyer was but one of many historically important aircraft. Below are brief descriptions and photos of some of the most important people and planes, and where available resources and links where you can find more information. In some cases, contributors have supplied expanded histories and biographies. Those are listed at the right and linked below.

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Sergei I. Utochkin was a champion bicyclist, balloonist, motorist, boxer, skater, swimmer, and swordsmen from the Ukraine. He made his first flight on 15 March 1910 from his hometown of Odessa. Other eastern European pilots had learned to fly in France and Germany, but he was apparently the first to learn to fly in eastern Europe. He became an immensely popular aviator, making exhibition flights all over the Ukraine and Russia in his Farman biplane. His legend was partly built on his eccentricities – he insisted on wearing a business suit and bowler when flying – and partly on his interest in young people. He took many aspiring aviators under his wing, taught them to fly, even gave one an airplane. He earned much the same fame and provided the same inspiration that Yuri Gagarin, Russia's first cosmonaut, would enjoy many years later.

Utochkin flies his Farman in St. Petersburg in 1910.

This statue of Utochkin stands in Odessa, Ukraine, his home town.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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"Aviation is proof that – given the will – we can do the impossible."
 Eddie Rickenbacker

 

 

A History of the Airplane/Pilots, Planes and Pioneers U

Biographies of Aviation Pioneers

 

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