Donald Taylor (aviator)
Donald P. Taylor (October 1, 1918 – December 2, 2015) was an American aviator, notable for being in the late summer and early fall of 1976 the first person in history to successfully fly a homebuilt aircraft around the world. From an early age, he'd resolved "I will build an airplane, and I will fly it round-the-world." His plane, "Victoria '76" (named for the only one of Ferdinand Magellan's ships to complete her mission), a Lycoming-powered Thorp T-18 (N455DT) was fitted with improved communications and navigational equipment as well as a new fuel system after his initial 1973 round-the-world attempt had to be aborted due to bad weather between Japan and the Aleutian Islands. Taylor, who lived at the time in California, returned to his starting point of Oshkosh, Wisconsin a hero two months to the day after the 1976-08-01 start of his eastbound journey. The planning of this circumnavigation was especially complicated considering that both the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were closed to U.S. general aviators at the time.
Euan Dickson
Euan Dickson DSC and bar, DFC (31 March 1892 – 10 March 1980) was a British born New Zealander bomber pilot in the First World War. Serving with the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and subsequently the Royal Air Force (RAF) he flew over 150 missions flying the D.H.4 aircraft. As well as flying so many bombing missions he, and his observer, was also credited with shooting down 14 enemy aircraft. After the war he returned to New Zealand and was the first person to fly across the Cook Strait.