Aviation Hall Of Fame Unveils Class Of ‘27

LAS VEGAS—A half dozen trailblazers in American aviation and space will be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) as the Class of 2027.

NAHF leaders, in partnership with the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), unveiled the list of new inductees on Oct. 19 at a joint reception on the eve of the NBAA BACE show.

The 2027 enshrinees are:

• J. Bob Balaram, an aerospace engineer who led NASA’s development of the Ingenuity helicopter that flew on Mars, becoming the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet. 
• Vernon Estes, an entrepreneur in model rocketry who invented an automated machine that enabled the mass production of safe, affordable model rocket engines. 
• Charles J. Precourt, a decorated Air Force veteran, test pilot and former NASA Chief Astronaut who flew on four space shuttle missions. 
• Steven Udvar-Házy, who pioneered the aircraft leasing industry as co-founder of International Lease Finance Corp. and was a transformational backer of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & Space Museum. 
• The late Neal Vernon Loving, a pioneering aviator and aircraft designer who became the first African American certified to race airplanes. 
• The late Judith A. Resnik, a trailblazing NASA astronaut, engineer and scientist who became the second American woman to fly in space in 1984 and was killed in the 1986 Challenger accident. 

“From the entrepreneurial vision that advanced model rocketry and commercial air travel to the engineering breakthroughs that carried us to new frontiers in aviation and space exploration, this class is extraordinary in every way,” said Aimee Maruyama, NAHF President and CEO.

The 2027 inductees were chosen by a panel of aviation professionals from across the U.S. who serve on the NAHF Board of Nominations. Since its founding in 1962, the congressionally chartered NAHF has inducted 282 honorees to its museum in Dayton, Ohio. The new class will be inducted on Sept. 24, 2027, in Dayton.