PDA

View Full Version : Aviation Hall of Fame inducts Marine pilot



thedrifter
07-23-07, 06:41 AM
Aviation Hall of Fame inducts Marine pilot
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Jul 23, 2007 7:20:19 EDT

DAYTON, Ohio — A Marine pilot who went on to found the air freight giant FedEx was inducted Saturday into the Aviation Hall of Fame. Frederick Smith, 62, of Memphis, Tenn., flew crop dusters at age 15 and during the Vietnam War flew more than 200 missions with the Marines.

Also inducted were Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; Steve Fossett, the first man to complete a solo balloon trip around the globe; Walter Boyne, a nuclear test pilot with the Air Force; and 97-year-old Evelyn Bryan Johnson, who is recognized for logging more flight hours — 60,000-plus — training more pilots, and giving more Federal Aviation Administration exams than any other living pilot.

Johnson took up flying in 1944 while running her husband’s laundry business during his World War II military service.

Ellie