Captain Katrina Mumaw (born c. 1983 in Lancaster, California), is a United States Air Force Academy graduate and accomplished pilot who holds several records in aviation. [1] On July 12, 1994, at the age of eleven, [2] Mumaw became the youngest person to pilot a Russian MIG-29 fighter jet [3] and also the youngest to break the sound barrier. [2] Because of this media dubbed her "the world's fastest kid" during her youth. [3]
She was always interested in becoming a pilot when she met Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan at the age of three after one of their last test flights of the Rutan Voyager, the first plane to fly nonstop around the world without refueling. Her first flight as a passenger occurred when she was 5 and when she became aware of the Air Force Academy, she was determined to study there and although her admittance was delayed by a dental malocclusion she was eventually accepted. She graduated from the academy on May 31, 2006, with a bachelor's degree in behavioral science-human factors engineering. [1]
Mumaw first started piloting by competing in mock aerial combat at the age of eight [3] and she held the record for the most victories in mock dogfights. [4] She was also the youngest person to pilot a BD-10 (a prototype of the aircraft seen in the James Bond movie Octopussy ) in 1993. [5] On July 12, 1994, at the age of 11, Mumaw became the youngest person to fly a Mig-29 jet fighter and break the sound barrier with it. She first flew an Aero L-39 Albatros together with her instructor Vladimir Danilenko to prove she'd be able to handle the MIG safely. She satisfied the instructor and subsequently flew the MIG-29UB two-seat trainer to a speed of Mach 1.3 (940 mph). After that, she celebrated by performing a series of military-style maneuvers and aerobatics. [2]
Because of her records, Mumaw has appeared in print publications and television programs including Sports Illustrated [4] and Ripley's Believe it or Not! . [6]
She is also an author of a paper on human performance titled: "PC-based Desktop Display versus Immersive Head-mounted Display Flight Simulator Performance". [7]
Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight.
Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the record-breaking Voyager, which in 1986 was the first plane to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. He also designed the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, which in 2006 set the world record for the fastest and longest nonstop non-refueled circumnavigation flight in history. In 2004, Rutan's sub-orbital spaceplane design SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded spacecraft to enter the realm of space, winning the Ansari X-Prize that year for achieving the feat twice within a two-week period.
Lloyd Blaine Hammond Jr. is a Gulfstream test pilot, a former United States Air Force officer, and a former NASA astronaut. He flew on two Space Shuttle missions.
Richard Glenn Rutan is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight with co-pilot Jeana Yeager. Rutan was born and raised in Loma Linda, California, where he gained an interest in flying at a young age. He is the older brother of famed aerospace designer Burt Rutan, whose many earlier original designs Dick piloted on class record-breaking flights, including Voyager.
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows pilots-in-training to safely advance their skills in a more forgiving aircraft.
Robert Anderson Hoover was an American fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and record-setting air show aviator.
Sabiha Gökçen was a Turkish aviator. During her flight career, she flew around 8,000 hours and participated in 32 different military operations. She was the world's first female fighter pilot, aged 23. As an orphan, she was one of the nine children adopted by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Nicole Margaret Ellingwood Malachowski is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer and the first female pilot selected to fly as part of the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Thunderbirds. She later became a speaker and advocate on behalf of patients with tick-borne illnesses.
A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting. A fighter pilot with at least five air-to-air kills becomes known as an ace.
Eric Allen Boe is a retired United States Air Force fighter pilot, Colonel, test pilot, and a current, active NASA astronaut. He flew as the pilot of Space Shuttle missions STS-126 and STS-133.
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Frederick Corbin "Boots" Blesse was a United States Air Force major general and flying ace. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1945. He flew two combat tours during the Korean War, completing 67 missions in P-51s, 35 missions in F-80s and 121 missions in F-86s. During the second tour in F-86s, he was officially credited with shooting down nine MiG-15s and one La-9. At the time of his return to the United States in October 1952, he was America's leading jet ace.
Jerauld Richard "Jerry" Gentry was a United States Air Force (USAF) test pilot and Vietnam combat veteran. As chief USAF pilot of the Lifting Body Research Program, he helped validate the concept of flying a wingless vehicle back to Earth from space and landing it like an aircraft—an approach used by the Space Shuttle and to a greater degree by vehicles such as the Lockheed Martin X-33 and NASA X-38. Gentry completed thirty lifting body flights including the first flight of the Martin-Marietta X-24A and the second flight of the Northrop HL-10.
Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, and the first female African-American fighter pilot in the history of that service. She flew the F-16 Fighting Falcon during combat missions in Operation Northern Watch. She is stationed at Nellis Air Force Base where she is a member of the 78th Attack Squadron and serves as an MQ-9 Pilot and Mission Commander.
Hispanics in the United States Air Force can trace their tradition of service back to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the military aviation arm of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II. The USAAF was the predecessor of the United States Air Force, which was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947, under the National Security Act of 1947. In the U.S., the term Hispanic categorizes any citizen or resident of the United States, of any racial background, of any country, and of any religion, who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or is of non-Hispanic origin but has an ancestor from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central or South America, or some other Hispanic origin. The three largest Hispanic groups in the United States are the Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the estimated Hispanic population of the United States is over 50 million, or 16% of the U.S. population, and Hispanics are the nation's largest ethnic minority. The 2010 U.S. census estimate of over 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico, thereby making the people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority as of July 1, 2005.
Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi is an Indian pilot from Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh. She was declared as the first female combat pilot in India along with two of her cohorts, Mohana Singh Jitarwal, and Bhawana Kanth. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016. They were formally commissioned by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on 18 June 2016, to serve the nation.
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Willie Howell Fuller was a U.S. Army Air Force/U.S. Air Force officer, combat fighter pilot, and combat flight instructor with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Pursuit Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen or "Red Tails". He was the first black flight instructor for the single engine planes at Tuskegee. He was the only black flight instructor until December 1944. He was one of 1,007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots. He flew 76 combat missions.