Bill Gunston OBE FRAeS (b. 1927) is one of the most internationally respected and published aviation and military authors. He flew with Britain's Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1948, and is a flying instructor. He has spent most of his adult life doing research and writing on aircraft and aviation. He is the author of over 350 books and articles. His work includes many books published by Salamander.

Robert Rowe Gilruth (October 18 1913-August 17 2000) was an American aviation and space pioneer. In the beginning of his career he was involved with early research into supersonic flight and rocket-powered aircraft and then with the manned space program, including the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects. He worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics from 1937 to 1958 and its successor agency, the NASA, until retirement in 1973.

Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, OM, KBE, FRS, Hon FRAeS (1 June 1907-9 August 1996) was an English Royal Air Force officer and is seen as the father of jet propulsion. By the end of the war, Whittle's efforts resulted in engines that would lead the world in performance through the end of the decade. Whittle and Hans von Ohain met after the war and initially Whittle was angry with him as he felt Ohain had stolen his ideas.

Captain Brian Walpole OBE led the Concorde fleet for British Airways since the beginning of the supersonic era, and was the mastermind of its commercial success. The career of Captain Brian Walpole is second to none in the history of post-war aviation. Not only has he flown the world's only supersonic jet airliner for twelve years, he commanded the fleet and also ran its commercial operations as General Manager Concorde.

Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS (January 18 1888-January 27 1989) was an English aviation pioneer as well as a celebrated yachtsman. Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith was born in Kensington, London. He was the eighth child and only son of a civil engineer. He was educated at Cottesmore School in Hove and at Seafield Park engineering college in Lee-on-Solent.

Christopher John Dugmore Orlebar was a British Concorde pilot with British Airways, and is now well-known as a lecturer and writer and as a frequent contributor to TV aviation documentaries, on aviation subjects generally, and on the Anglo-French aeroplane in particular. Orlebar went to Rugby School. He learned to fly in 1965 with the Southampton University Air Squadron (RAF), and then finished his training in civil aviation, at the College of Air Training at Hamble.

Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, CBE, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar, FRAeS, DL, RAF (21 February 1910-5 September 1982); surname pronounced) was a successful fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Bader is upheld as an inspirational leader and hero of the era, not least because he fought despite having lost both legs in a pre-war flying accident.

Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, FRS FRAeS (April 13, 1892-December 5, 1973), is considered by many to be the "inventor of radar". Radar development was first started elsewhere (see History of radar), but Watson-Watt created the first workable radar system, turning the theory into one of the most important war-winning weapons. The Official WEB Page:- www.watsonwatt.org

Major Simon Mark Arthur, 4th Baron Glenarthur DL, FCIT, FRAeS (born 7 October 1944) is a British peer, pilot and businessman. Having succeeded to his father's titles in 1976, he is one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the House of Lords Act 1999. The son of the 3rd Baron Glenarthur, he was educated at Eton College, Berkshire. Commissioned to the 10th Royal Hussars in 1963, …

Air Chief Marshal Sir Graham Eric Stirrup, GCB, AFC, DSc, FRAeS FCMI RAF (born 4 December 1949), commonly known as Sir Jock Stirrup, is a senior Royal Air Force commander and the current British Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS). Stirrup was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and the RAF College Cranwell, where he received his commission in 1970. In the early 1970s, whilst on loan service with the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force, …

Sir Richard Harry Evans, CBE, Hon DTech, Hon FRAeS (less formally known as Dick Evans before and after his knighthood) was born in Blackpool in 1942 and was formerly chairman of BAE Systems. In 2001 he became Chancellor of the University of Central Lancashire. Evans was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 1987 for services to export and was knighted in the 1996 birthday honours. Evans was educated at the Royal Masonic School in Bushey, …

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Willis GBE KCB FRAeS is a retired Royal Air Force officer. He was one of the RAF's most senior commanders, being Air Officer Commanding-in Chief of Support Command and the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence. He is currently a patron of the Second World War Experience Centre. John Willis was educated at Dulwich College and the RAF College Cranwell. Willis gained his RAF commission in 1958 and went on to fly Vulcans.

Juan de la Cierva (21 September 1895 - 9 December 1936) was a Spanish civil engineer and pilot. His most famous accomplishment was the invention in 1919 of the Autogiro, a type of aircraft that later came to be called an autogyro. After four years of experimentation, la Cierva developed the articulated rotor which resulted in the world's first successful flight of a stable rotary-wing aircraft in 1924 with his La Cierva C-6 prototype.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Lester Torpy, KCB, CBE, DSO, BSc(Eng), FRAeS, RAF is the current Chief of the Air Staff. Torpy was born in 1953 and joined the Royal Air Force in 1974 after studying aeronautical engineering at Imperial College London. His early career, after he left the RAF College Cranwell, involved flying duties on Jaguar aircaft before qualifying as a weapons instructor on Hawk aircraft.

Sir Sydney Camm, CBE, FRAeS (1893-March 12, 1966) was an English aeronautical engineer who contributed to many aircraft designs, from the biplanes of the 1920s to jet fighters. One particularly notable aircraft he designed is the Hawker Hurricane fighter.

Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis MBE, DEng (hc), CEng, FRAeS, FSETP, PhD (hc), RAF (Ret'd), is one of the leading exponents of autogyros. He has held (in some cases still holds) 34 records relating to them. He produces autogyros for, in his own words, "reconnaissance, research & development, surveillance and military purposes" and his designs are not available for enthusiasts. Born on 16 April 1916 at Ely, Cambridgeshire, he developed a practical interest in mechanics, …

Sir Frederick Handley Page, FRAeS, (November 15, 1885 – April 21, 1962) was an English industrialist who was a pioneer in the design and manufacture of aircraft. His company Handley Page Limited produced a series of military aircraft, including the Halifax bomber in World War II, of which around 7,000 were produced. They also produced civil aircraft, including the H.P.42, flagships of the Imperial Airways fleet and remarkable at the time for no passenger deaths.

Air Marshal Ian David Macfadyen <small>CB OBE FRAeS RAF</small&gt; was the Lieutenant governor of the Isle of Man until 17 October 2005. He was appointed following a successful career in the Royal Air Force. Ian Macfadyen was educated at Marlborough College and entered the RAF College Cranwell in 1960. He graduated with the Sword of Honour. His flying career included service as a fighter pilot in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Clive Robert Loader, KCB, OBE, ADC, FRAeS, RAF is Commander-in-Chief Air Command (CinC AIR). Educated at The Judd School, Tonbridge, Air Marshal Loader joined the RAF in 1973. After flying training, he was posted to Harriers, serving tours on No 1(F) Squadron at RAF Wittering and IV (Army Cooperation) Squadron at RAF Gütersloh, Germany.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Anthony John Crowther Bagnall GBE KCB FRAeS (born 8 June 1945) is a retired senior RAF commander and former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff. As a junior officer, Bagnall completed several tours flying the Lightning aircraft. As he became more senior, Bagnall went on to take up the posts of Officer Commanding No 23 Squadron in the Falkland Islands and Station Commander of RAF Leuchars, which is in Fife, Scotland.

Air Marshal Sir Leslie Deane Mavor (1916-1991), KCB AFC FRAeS DL, was a senior Royal Air Force officer. Born 1916, and educated in Aberdeen. Sir Leslie served in the RAF from 1935-1973. Mavor was trained at the School of Army Co-operation, and was then posted to No 31 Squadron, which at the time was based in Lahore in India. Mavor received the Air Force Cross for Army Co-Operation and Transport operations which he performed with his squadron in India, …

Frederick William Lanchester, Hon FRAeS (October 23, 1868 - March 8, 1946) was an English polymath and engineer who made important contributions to automotive engineering, aerodynamics and co-invented the field of operations research. He was also a pioneer British motor car builder, a hobby he eventually turned into a successful car company, and is considered one of the "big three" English car engineers, the others being Harry Ricardo and Henry Royce.

Group-Captain Clifford Arthur Bowman Wilcock, OBE, AFC, FRAeS (28 April, 1898 - 14 January, 1962) was a British engineer, company director and politician who is noted for his contributions to civil and military aviation.

Air Vice-Marshal David Allan Walker OBE MVO FRAeS has been Master of the Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom since 2005. He was born 14 July 1956, and educated at the City of London School, and the University of Birmingham (BSc, 1977). He joined the Royal Air Force in 1974, and served in the Administration Branch. He is a MIPD and staff qualified (qs). Walker served three tours of duty as a junior officer, …

Air Marshal Sir Barry Michael Thornton, KCB, MSc, BSc, CEng, FIMechE, FCMI, FRAeS, RAF is the Chief of Material (Strike) at the Defence Equipment & Support organisation. Thornton was the last Commander in Chief Personnel and Training Command from 06 January 2006 until 01 April 2007, when the command was merged into Air Command.

Air Marshal Sir Timothy I Jenner KCB, FRAeS, RAF, is as of 2006 a retired senior Royal Air Force commander who from 2001 has been a director of Serco Group

Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, FRAeS, RN is a former Royal Navy officer and test pilot who has flown more types of aircraft than anyone else in history. He is also the Fleet Air Arm’s most decorated pilot. Born in January 1919, he first flew when he was 18. After World War II‚ Brown commanded Enemy Aircraft Flight, an elite group of pilots who test-flew captured German aircraft.