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.
History of aviation
In the seventeenth century, the Algerian historian Ahmed Mohammed al-Maqqari stated that the Andalusian scientist Abbas ibn Firnas (810–887 A.D.) made a jump in Cordoba, Spain, covering his body with vulture feathers and attaching two wings to his arms. No other sources record the event. Writing in the twelfth century, William of Malmesbury stated that the eleventh century Benedictine monk Eilmer of Malmesbury attached wings to his hands and feet and flew a short distance. Beyond those based on William's account, there are no other known sources documenting Eilmer's life.