List of aerospace engineers

This is a list of notable aerospace engineers, people who were trained in or practiced aerospace engineering and design.

A

 * Talbert Abrams (1895–1990) – aerial photography and plexiglas pioneer, designer of the Abrams P-1 Explorer
 * Gerd Achgelis (1908–1991) – helicopter pioneer
 * Jakob Ackeret (1898–1981)
 * Clément Ader (1841–1925) – early aviation pioneer
 * Bruce Aikenhead (1923–2019) – Avro Canada, NASA
 * Buzz Aldrin (born 1930) – astronaut, mechanical engineer and second person to walk on the Moon
 * Rostislav Alexeyev (1916–1980) – ground effect vehicle designer
 * Edmund T. Allen (1896–1943) – engineer, test pilot
 * Harry Julian Allen (1910–1977) – NASA, inventor of blunt body re-entry vehicles
 * Gwen Alston (1907–1993) – aerodynamicist
 * Björn Andreasson (1917–1993)
 * Oleg Antonov (1906–1984) – founder of the OKB-153 Antonov design bureau
 * Neil Armstrong (1930–2012) – astronaut, aeronautical engineer and first person to walk on the Moon
 * Yuri Artsutanov (1929–2019) – space elevator pioneer
 * Holt Ashley (1923–2006) – researched aeroelasticity
 * Lee Atwood (1904–1999) – North American Aviation engineer

B

 * Brunolf Baade (1904–1969) – lead designer of the Baade 152
 * Erich Bachem (1906–1960) – designer of the Bachem Ba 349 Natter rocket plane
 * Leonard Bairstow (1880–1963) – National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom) researcher
 * Herman Barkey (1909–2005) – led the design team for the McDonnell Aircraft F-4 Phantom
 * V. P. Barmin (1909–1993) – designer of the rocket launch complex
 * Frank Barnwell (1880–1938) – chief engineer Bristol Aeroplane Company
 * Robert Ludvigovich Bartini (1897–1974) – designer of the Bartini Beriev VVA-14 and other experimental projects, founder of the OKB-86 design bureau
 * L. E. Baynes (1902–1989) – designer of the Baynes Bat tank glider
 * Ermanno Bazzocchi (1914–2005) – Aermacchi MB-326 designer
 * Jim Bede (1933–2015)
 * Rex Beisel (1893–1972) – lead engineer at Curtiss and Vought
 * Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (1886–1960) – aircraft pioneer, blended wing designer
 * Dwight Henry Bennett (1917–2002) – developed Fly-by-wire technology, helped design the F2Y, F-102, F-4 Phantom, F/A-18
 * Thomas W. Benoist (1874–1917) – early airline entrepreneur
 * Igor Bensen (1917–2000) – autogyro designer
 * Max Bentele (1909–2006) – jet engine pioneer
 * Aleksandr Bereznyak (1912–1974) – designer of the BI-1 rocket plane
 * Georgy Beriev (1903–1979) – founder of the OKB-49 Beriev design bureau
 * J. D. Bernal (1901–1971) – invented the Bernal sphere for space habitation
 * Albert Betz (1885–1968) – designer and researcher
 * Paul Bevilaqua (born 1945) – lift fan inventor
 * Ronald Eric Bishop (1903–1989) - chief designer of the de Havilland Mosquito
 * Matus Bisnovat (1905–1977) – missile designer
 * Robert Blackburn (1885–1955) – aviation pioneer
 * Louis Blériot (1872–1936) – aviation pioneer
 * George Eugene Bockrath (1911–1998) – researched fracture mechanics
 * Hendrik Wade Bode (1905–1982) – NASA advisor
 * Jenny Body – former President of the Royal Aeronautical Society
 * William Boeing (1881–1956) – founder of Boeing
 * Charles Bolden (born 1946) – NASA Administrator
 * Viktor Bolkhovitinov (1899–1970) – lead designer of the Bolkhovitinov DB-A bomber, founder of the OKB-293 design bureau
 * Ludwig Bölkow (1912–2003) – aerodynamicist for the Me 262
 * Alan Bond (born 1944) – designed spaceplanes and an SST
 * Philip Bono (1921–1993) – space launcher developer
 * Frank Borman (1928-2023) – commanded first mission to circle the Moon
 * Karel Bossart (1904–1975) – lead designer of the Atlas ICBM
 * Enea Bossi Sr. (1888–1963) – aviation pioneer
 * William Hawley Bowlus (1896–1967) – glider designer
 * John Boyd (1927–1997) – created the energy–maneuverability theory
 * Frances Bradfield (1895–1967) – wind tunnel researcher
 * Ferdinand Brandner (1903–1986) – aircraft engine designer
 * Vance Breese (1904–1973) – engineer and test pilot
 * Louis Charles Breguet (1880–1955) – aviation pioneer, founder of Bréguet Aviation
 * Maurice Brennan (1913–1986) – designer of flying boats, helicopters, transports, rockets, hovercraft
 * Yvonne Brill (1924–2013) – electrothermal hydrazine thruster
 * Arthur E. Bryson (born 1925) – "father of modern optimal control theory"
 * Carl Clemens Bücker (1895–1976) – founder of Bücker-Flugzeugbau GmbH
 * Viktor Bugaisky (1912–1994) – designed the Functional Cargo Block of several space missions
 * Isabelle Buret – engineer specializing in telecommunications and astronautics
 * Vincent Burnelli (1895–1964) – blended wing and lifting body designer
 * Anne Burns (1915–2001) – wind shear expert
 * Adolf Busemann (1901–1986) – swept wing
 * Robert W. Bussard (1928–2007) – designer of nuclear thermal rocket engines
 * Fedor Ivanovich Bylinkin – aviation pioneer

C

 * Sydney Camm (1893–1966) – Hawker Hurricane designer
 * Secondo Campini (1904–1980) – jet engine pioneer
 * Giovanni Caproni (1886–1957) – founder of Caproni
 * Albert Caquot (1881–1976) – aviation pioneer
 * Robert Castello (1906–1976) – chief engineer at Dewoitine, designer at Fouga
 * Mario Castoldi (1888–1968) – chief designer at Aeronautica Macchi
 * Beatrice Mabel Cave-Browne-Cave (1874–1947) – undertook pioneering work in the mathematics of aeronautics
 * George Cayley (1773–1857) – notable for his research in aerodynamics
 * Clyde Cessna (1879–1954) – early aircraft designer and founder of Cessna
 * Roy Chadwick (1893–1947) – design engineer for the Avro Company
 * Roger Chaffee (1935–1967) – Apollo 1 fire victim on January 27, 1967
 * George Henry Challenger (1881–1947) – engineer with the Bristol Aeroplane Company and later with Vickers
 * Jim Chamberlin (1915–1981) – Avro Canada, NASA
 * Roy Chaplin (1899–1988) – Hawker Aircraft
 * George Chapline Jr. (born 1942) – proposer of a fission-fragment rocket
 * Kalpana Chawla (1961–2003) – died in the Columbia disaster
 * Vladimir Chelomey (1914–1984) – founder of the OKB-52 rocket design bureau
 * Chen Yijian (born 1930) – participated in the design of the Shenyang JJ-1
 * Boris Ivanovich Cheranovsky (1896–1960) – flying wing designer
 * S. L. Chernyshev (born 1955) – aerodynamicist
 * Boris Chertok (1912–2011) – space program control systems designer
 * Chu Chia-Jen (1900–1985)
 * Thomas P. Christie (born 1934) – mathematician, co-creator of the Energy–maneuverability theory with John Boyd
 * Zbysław Ciołkosz (1902–1960) – introduced the use of shaft turbine power for helicopters
 * John Drury Clark (1907–1988) – developer of jet and rocket fuel
 * Val Cleaver (1917–1977) – rocket engineer
 * Henri Coandă (1886–1972) – inventor of the jet engine
 * Richard Coar (1921–2013) – RJ10 rocket engine designer
 * Christopher Cockerell (1910–1999) – hovercraft inventor
 * Dandridge MacFarlan Cole (1921–1965) – Titan II designer
 * Giuseppe Colombo (1920–1984) – developed the gravitational assist profile used in the Mariner 10 mission to Mercury, invented the space tether
 * Nicholas Comper (1897–1939) – designer of the Comper Swift
 * Philip M. Condit (born 1941) – former CEO of Boeing
 * René Couzinet (1904–1956) – invented retractable landing gear
 * Eugene E. Covert (1926–2015) – wind tunnel designer
 * Ray Creasey (1921–1976) aerodynamicist, helped design the BAC Lightning
 * Gaetano Crocco (1877–1968) – rocketry pioneer
 * Scott Crossfield (1921–2006) – first man to fly faster than twice the speed of sound in NAA's X-15
 * Alwyn Crow (1894–1965) – rocket designer
 * Irv Culver (1911–1999) – P-38 designer
 * Glenn Curtiss (1878–1930) – founder of the US aircraft industry
 * Kazimierz Czarnecki (1916–2005) – NACA and NASA engineer

D

 * Werner Dahm (1917–2008)
 * Frederick Dallenbach – Auxiliary power unit designer
 * Louis Damblanc (1889–1969) – developed solid fuel rocket fuel
 * Corradino D'Ascanio (1891–1981) – helicopter pioneer
 * Marcel Dassault (1892–1986)
 * Serge Dassault (1925–2018)
 * Arthur Davenport (1891–1976) – Westland Aircraft
 * Fred David (1898–1992) – designer at Heinkel, Mitsubishi, Aichi Kokuki and Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
 * Stuart Davies (1906–1995) – designed the Avro Lancaster and Vulcan
 * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
 * Geoffrey de Havilland (1882–1965)
 * Louis de Monge (1890–1977) – blended wing inventor
 * Juan de la Cierva (1895–1936) – inventor of the autogyro
 * Satish Dhawan (1920–2002)
 * Walter Stuart Diehl (1893–1976) – created US Navy test facilities, authored Engineering Aerodynamics
 * Paul Bernard Dilworth (1915–2007)
 * Wilhelm Dirks (born 1947) – sailplane designer
 * Heini Dittmar (1911–1960) – record-breaking pilot
 * Jurgis Dobkevičius (1900–1926) – Lithuanian aviation constructor, military pilot
 * Takeo Doi (1904–1996) – designer for Kawasaki Aircraft Industries
 * Tom Dolan – developed the lunar orbit rendezvous concept for the Apollo program
 * Roy Dommett (1933–2015) – the United Kingdom's Chief Missile Scientist
 * Charles J. Donlan (1916–2011) – NASA manager
 * Allen F. Donovan (1914–1995) WW2 aircraft, Atlas and Titan missiles, nuclear rockets
 * Jimmy Doolittle (1896–1993) – instrument flying developer
 * Étienne Dormoy (1885–1959) – airplane and autogyro designer
 * Claude Dornier (1884–1969)
 * Anatoly Dorodnitsyn (1910–1994) – researched meteorology, vortex wing theory, boundary layer theory in a compressible gas, and supersonic gas dynamics
 * Donald W. Douglas (1892–1981) – founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company
 * George Dowty (1901–1975) – designer of aircraft components
 * Charles Stark Draper (1901–1987) – developed inertial navigation
 * Hugh Latimer Dryden (1898–1965) – researcher and NASA administrator
 * Guy du Merle (1908–1993) – engineer, test flew captured Bf 109 and He 111 in Spain
 * Alberto Santos Dumont (1873–1932) – inventor of the dirigible; aeronautics pioneer
 * J. W. Dunne (1875–1949) – invented the first delta wing
 * Pedro Duque (born 1963) – engineer and astronaut
 * William F. Durand (1859–1958) – propeller designer, NACA chair
 * Ludwig Dürr (1878–1956) – airship designer
 * Leonid Dushkin (1910–1990) – rocket engine designer

E

 * George Edwards (1908–2003) – designer at Vickers-Armstrongs and BAC
 * Alfred J. Eggers (1922–2006) – NACA / NASA researcher, developed re-entry bodies and compression lift, managed Pioneer program
 * Joe Engle (born 1932)
 * Richard Eppler (1924–2021) – sailplane designer
 * Robert Esnault-Pelterie (1881–1957) – aviation and rocketry pioneer, invented the center stick
 * Walter Extra (born 1954) – aerobatic aircraft designer

F

 * András Fábián (1909–1944) - designer of the Repülőgépgyár Levente II
 * Maxime Faget (1921–2004) – designer of the Project Mercury spacecraft
 * Ole Fahlin (1901–1992) – propeller and prototype airplane developer
 * Sherman Fairchild (1896–1971) – founded Fairchild Aircraft
 * Charles Richard Fairey (1857–1956) – founder of the Fairey Aviation Company
 * Farman Brothers
 * Robert W. Farquhar (1932–2015) – NASA engineer, inventor of the halo orbit
 * Roy Fedden (1885–1973) – British engine designer for Bristol Engine Company
 * Bobak Ferdowsi (born 1979) – JPL flight engineer
 * Antonio Ferri (1912–1975) – created the Ferri scoop used on the jet intakes of the XF-103, F-105, XF8U-3, and SSM-N-9 Regulus II cruise missile, and the diverterless supersonic inlet used on the F-35
 * Gerhard Fieseler (1896–1987) – German aircraft designer
 * Harold Finger (born 1924) – Project NERVA lead engineer
 * Hanno Fischer (born 1924) – ducted fan aircraft designer
 * Gary Flandro (born 1934) – NASA researcher, conceived the Planetary Grand Tour fulfilled by the Voyager program
 * Alexander H. Flax (1921–2014) – developer of tandem helicopters and reconnaissance satellites
 * Anton Flettner (1885–1961) – helicopter pioneer
 * Nicolas Florine (1891–1972) – helicopter pioneer
 * James C. Floyd (born 1914) – Avro Canada designer
 * Henrich Focke (1890–1979) – helicopter pioneer
 * Anthony Fokker (1890–1939)
 * Henry Folland (1889–1954) – chief designer at Nieuport, Gloster, and Folland Aircraft
 * Edward Forman (1912–1973) – co-founder of JPL, Aerojet
 * Robert L. Forward (1932–2002) – designer of solar sails and space tethers
 * Harlan D. Fowler (1895–1982) – Fowler flap inventor
 * John Fozard (1928–1996) – Hawker Siddeley Harrier designer
 * Anselm Franz (1900–1994) – jet engine pioneer
 * Stelio Frati (1919–2010) – designer of several aircraft inc the SIAI-Marchetti SF.260
 * Otto Frenzl (1909–1996) – first inventor of the area rule
 * Leslie Frise (1895–1979) – designed the Type 156 Bristol Beaufighter
 * John Carver Meadows Frost (1915–1979) – chief designer of the Avro Canada CF-100 and several VTOL projects
 * Michimasa Fujino (born 1960) – Hondajet designer

G

 * Giuseppe Gabrielli (1903–1987) – aircraft designer
 * Giovanni Galasso – designer of the STOL IMAM Ro.63
 * Jean Galtier (1902–1971)
 * Robert Gilruth (1913–2000) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator
 * Peter Glaser (1923–2014) – developed the solar power satellite
 * John Glenn (1921–2016) – first American man to orbit the Earth in 1962
 * Valentin Glushko (1908–1989)
 * Robert Goddard (1882–1945) – scientist who developed the first liquid-fueled rocket 3-16-26
 * Tadeusz Góra (1918–2010)
 * Vladimir P. Gorbunov (1903–1945) – co-developer of the LaGG-3
 * Sergei Petrovich Gorbunov (1902–1933) – designer and factory manager
 * Viktor Gorokhov (born 1952) – liquid rocket engine designer at the Chemical Automatics Design Bureau
 * Fritz Gosslau (1898–1965) – V-1 flying bomb designer
 * Arthur Gouge (1890–1962) – designed the "C-class" Empire and Sunderland flying boats, invented the Gouge flap
 * Granville Brothers – GeeBee racers
 * Jay Greene (1942–2017)
 * Alan Arnold Griffith (1893–1963) – jet engine designer
 * Gus Grissom (1926–1967) – Apollo 1 fire victim on January 27, 1967
 * Gordon G. Grose (1925–1993) – integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays
 * Gu Songfen (born 1930) – participated in the design of the Shenyang JJ-1, chief designer of the Shenyang J-8 and Shenyang J-8II
 * Guan De (1932–2018) – aeroelasticity engineer, participated in the design and development of the Shenyang JJ-1, the Shenyang J-8 and the Shenyang J-8II
 * Mikhail Ivanovich Gudkov (1904–1983) – co-developer of the LaGG-3
 * Leroy Grumman (1895–1982) – founder of Grumman Aircraft
 * Siegfried and Walter Günter (1899–1969)(1899–1937) – jet aircraft pioneers
 * Mikhail Gurevich (1893–1976) – co-founder of the OKB-155 MiG design bureau
 * Bartolomeu de Gusmão (1685–1724) – Portuguese priest, aircraft designer
 * Antanas Gustaitis (1898–1941) – Lithuanian aircraft designer, Brigadier General, Commander-in-Chief of Lithuanian Air Force

H

 * Wolfgang Haack (1902–1994)
 * B. J. Habibie (1936–2019)
 * Raoul Hafner (1905–1980) – helicopter pioneer
 * Edward N. Hall (1914–2006) – Minuteman ICBM engineer
 * Eugen Hänle (1924–1975) – sailplane designer
 * Julius Hatry (1906–2000) – built the first rocket plane
 * Harry Hawker (1889–1921) – test pilot, formed Hawker Aircraft
 * Willis Hawkins (1913–2004) – design lead of the L-133 and C-130
 * Clinton H. Havill (1892–1953) – researched airships and propellers
 * Richard E. Hayden (born 1946) – noise reduction developer
 * Wallace D. Hayes (1918–2001) – discoverer of the area rule and hypersonics
 * Martin Heide (born 1954) – sailplane designer
 * Edward H. Heinemann (1908–1991) – Chief Engineer for Douglas Aircraft, designed 20 military aircraft
 * Ernst Heinkel (1888–1958) – developed first jet rocket aircraft
 * Chris Heintz (1938–2021) – kit plane designer
 * Hall Hibbard (1903–1996) – Lockheed engineer
 * Homer Hickam (born 1943) – NASA engineer, model rocketry enthusiast
 * Geoffrey T. R. Hill (1895–1955) – designer of the Westland-Hill Pterodactyls and co-developed the aero-isoclinic wing
 * Stanley Hiller (1924–2006) – founder Hiller Aircraft
 * Hellmuth Hirth (1886–1938) – aircraft engine designer, brother of Wolf Hirth
 * Wolf Hirth (1900–1959) – sailplane designer, brother of Hellmuth Hirth
 * Leonard S. Hobbs (1896–1977) – engine designer
 * John Hodge (1929–2021) – Avro Canada, NASA
 * Sighard F. Hoerner (1906—1971) – aerodynamicist, assisted the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch design
 * Nicholas J. Hoff (1906–1997)
 * Samuel Kurtz Hoffman (1902–1995) – rocket engine designer
 * Kurt Hohenemser (1906–2001) – helicopter pioneer
 * Walter Hohmann (1880–1945) – invented the Hohmann transfer orbit
 * Peter K. Homer (born 1961)
 * Stanley Hooker (1907–1984) – British engine engineer for Rolls-Royce Aerospace
 * Ralph Hooper (1926–2022) – Hawker Siddeley Harrier developer
 * Jiro Horikoshi (1903–1982) – chief engineer for the Mitsubishi A6M
 * Horten brothers (1913–1998) (1915–1994) – flying wing designers
 * John Houbolt (1919–2014) – NASA engineer, lunar orbit rendezvous proponent
 * Kathleen Howell – known for her contributions to dynamical systems theory applied to spacecraft trajectory
 * Hsue-Chu Tsien (1914–1997) – aeronautical engineer
 * Howard Hughes (1905–1976) – aerospace engineer, owned RKO movie studio
 * Huang Zhiqian (1914–1965) – lead designer of the Shenyang J-8
 * Jerome Clarke Hunsaker (1886–1984) – pioneer of heavier and lighter than air aircraft
 * Rick Husband (1957–2003) – died in the Columbia disaster
 * François Hussenot (1912–1951) – inventor of one of the early forms of the flight recorder
 * Wolfgang Hütter (1909–1990) – sailplane designer

I

 * Sergey Ilyushin (1894–1977) – founder of the OKB-39 Ilyushin design bureau
 * Aleksei Isaev (1908–1971) – rocket engine designer
 * Hideo Itokawa (1912–1999) – aircraft and rocket designer at Nakajima Aircraft Company
 * Sergey Izotov (1917–1983) – aircraft engine designer, founder of the OKB-117 design bureau

J

 * Mary Jackson (1921–2005) – NASA engineer
 * Eastman Jacobs (1902–1987) – advanced wind tunnels, airfoils, turbulence, boundary layers, and Schlieren photography
 * Hans Jacobs (1907–1994) – sailplane pioneer
 * Jack James (1920–2001) – Mariner program manager
 * Antony Jameson (born 1934) – pioneered computational fluid dynamics
 * Robert P. Johannes (1934–2004) – developed Fly-by-wire technology
 * Clarence "Kelly" Johnson (1910–1990) – formed Lockheed's Skunk Works and led the design of the SR-71, U-2, F-117A, F-104, C-130, T-33, P-38, and Constellations
 * Katherine Johnson (1918–2020) – mathematician who worked as an aerospace technologist at NASA
 * Robert Thomas Jones (1910–1999) – aeronautical engineer at NASA
 * Drago Jovanovich (1916–1983) – rotorcraft designer
 * Charles Joy (1911–1989) – engineer at Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, Gloster Aircraft Company. and Handley Page
 * Hugo Junkers (1859–1935) – pioneered the design of all-metal airplanes

K

 * Rudolf Kaiser (1922–1991) – sailplane designer
 * A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015) – former President of India, "Missile Man of India"
 * Charles Kaman (1919–2011) – helicopter pioneer
 * Nikolai Kamov (1902–1973) – founder of the Kamov design bureau
 * Abraham Karem (born 1937) – founder of UAV (drone) technology
 * Alexander Kartveli (1896–1974) – Chief Engineer at Republic Aviation, contributor to first aerospace vehicle prototypes
 * Otto Kauba (1908-1962) – designer of the Škoda-Kauba SK 257, co-designer of the Škoda-Kauba P14
 * Harold R. Kaufman (1926-2018) – developed first ion thrusters
 * David Keith-Lucas (1911–1997) – engineer at Short Brothers
 * Mstislav Keldysh (1911–1978) – rocket and spacecraft designer
 * W. Wallace Kellett (1891–1951) – Kellett Autogiro Corporation
 * Thomas J. Kelly (1929–2002) – leader of the Apollo Lunar Module design team
 * Alexander Kemurdzhian (1921–2003) – mechanical engineer who is best known for designing Lunokhod 1, the first lunar rover
 * Sergey Khristianovich (1908–2000) – aerodynamicst
 * Shizuo Kikuhara (1906–1991) – designer at Kawanishi Aircraft Company and ShinMaywa
 * Hidemasa Kimura (1904–1986) – YS-11 designer
 * Dutch Kindelberger (1895–1962) – Chief Engineer at Douglas Aircraft and head of North American Aviation
 * Klapmeier brothers (born 1958) (born 1961) – founders of Cirrus Aircraft
 * Milton Klein (1924–2022) – nuclear rocket engineer
 * Hanns Klemm (1885–1961) – founded the Klemm Light Aircraft Company
 * Vladimir Yakovlevich Klimov – aircraft engine designer, founder of the OKB-45 Klimov design bureau
 * Ave K. Kludze, Jr. (born 1967?) – NASA engineer
 * Heinz-Hermann Koelle (1925–2011) – von Braun associate
 * Yuri Kondratyuk (1897–1942) – first developer of the lunar orbit rendezvous concept
 * Alexander Konopatov (1922–2004) – aircraft and rocket designer at OKB-154
 * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991) – MIT professor, designer for Ford and Helio Courier
 * Yuri Koptev (born 1940) – engineer, former Roscosmos General Director
 * Sergey Korolev (1907–1966) – Korolev rocket design bureau founder
 * Semyon Kosberg (1903–1965) – lead engine designer at OKB-154
 * Gleb Kotelnikov (1872–1944) – parachute pioneer
 * Frank Kozloski (1916–2003) – rotorcraft and missile developer
 * Chris Kraft (1924–2019) – NASA administrator
 * Eugene Kranz (born 1933) – aeronautical engineer
 * Werner Krüger (1910–2003) – inventor of the Krueger flap
 * Dietrich Küchemann (1911–1976) – aerodynamicist
 * Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov (1911–1995) – engine designer, founder of the OKB-276 Kuznetsov design bureau

L

 * Gustav Lachmann (1896–1966) – designer at Handley-Page
 * Barry Laight (1920–2012) – designer of the Blackburn Buccaneer
 * Aarne Lakomaa (1914–2001) – involved in the design of the Saab 35 Draken and the Saab 37 Viggen
 * Frederick W. Lanchester (1868–1946) – aerodynamicist
 * Geoffrey A. Landis (born 1955) – NASA engineer, interplanetary exploration
 * Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834–1906) – aircraft pioneer
 * Agnew E. Larsen (1897–1969) – engineer at Curtiss and Pitcairn
 * Conrad Lau (1921–1964) – lead designer of the XF8U-3 and A-7 Corsair
 * Semyon Lavochkin (1900–1960) – founder of the OKB-301 Lavochkin design bureau
 * Lovell Lawrence Jr. (1915–1971) – co-founder of Reaction Motors
 * Bill Lear (1902–1978) – founder of Learjet
 * Jerome F. Lederer (1902–2004) – aviation-safety pioneer
 * René Leduc (1898–1968) – designer of the ramjet-powered Leduc 0.10
 * Diane Lemaire (1923–2012) – first woman to graduate from the University of Melbourne with a degree in engineering
 * Léon Levavasseur (1863–1922) – aviation pioneer
 * David S. Lewis (1917–2003) – F-4 Phantom II program manager
 * George W. Lewis (1882–1948) – NACA administrator
 * Gordon Lewis (1924–2010) – turbine engine designer
 * Fuk Li – JPL Mars Exploration Directorate manager
 * Robert Lickley (1912–1998) – Chief Engineer at Fairey Aviation Company
 * Robert H. Liebeck – airfoil and blended wing body designer
 * Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896)
 * Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) – made first solo transatlantic airplane flight from NY to Paris in 1927 on Spirit of St. Louis
 * Per Lindstrand (born 1948) – balloons and other aircraft
 * Alexander Lippisch (1894–1976)
 * Claude Lipscomb (1887–1974) – designer of the Short Stirling
 * Boris Lisunov (1898–1946) – engineered a copy of the DC-3
 * William Littlewood – contributed to the design and operational requirements of transport aircraft
 * Allan Lockheed (1889–1969) – co-founder of the Lockheed Corporation
 * Malcolm Lockheed (1886–1958) – co-founder of the Lockheed Corporation
 * Grover Loening (1888–1976) – awarded first ever degree in aeronautical engineering
 * Robert Loewy (born 1926) – rotor-wing VTOL aircraft designer
 * Roy LoPresti (1929–2002) – general aviation designer
 * Samuel Jasper Loring (1914–1963) – researched aeroelastic flutter problems
 * George Low (1926–1984) – aerodynamicist and NASA administrator
 * Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy (1909–2001) – General Designer of the NPO Molniya design bureau, lead designer of the Buran space shuttle
 * Lu Xiaopeng (1920–2000) – designer of the Nanchang Q-5 and the Nanchang J-12
 * Heinrich Lübbe (1884–1940) – Anthony Fokker collaborator
 * Glynn Lunney (1936–2021) – Apollo program
 * Robert Lusser (1899–1969) – designer at Messerschmitt, Heinkel, and Fieseler
 * Jean-Marie Luton (1942–2020) – ESA Director General
 * Andrey Lyapin (1912–1985) – chief missile designer at OKB-134, now Vympel NPO
 * Arkhip Lyulka (1908–1984) – engine designer, founder of the OKB-165 Lyulka design bureau
 * Lev Lyulyev (1908–1985) – artillery, rocket, and missile designer, founder of the OKB-8 design bureau

M

 * Paul MacCready (1925–2007) – human-powered aircraft designer
 * Elsie MacGill (1905–1980)
 * Ernst Mach (1838–1916)
 * Georg Hans Madelung (1889–1972) – V-1 designer
 * Otto Mader (1880–1944) – inventor of the Junkers flap
 * Peyton M. Magruder (1911–1982) – lead designer of the Martin B-26
 * Viktor Makeyev (1924–1985) – SLBM designer
 * Frank Malina (1912–1981) – rocket engineer, JPL administrator
 * John C. Mankins – NASA space-based solar power researcher
 * Frank E. Marble (1918–2014)
 * Frederick Marriott (1805–1884)
 * Glenn L. Martin (1886–1955) – founder of the Glenn L. Martin Company
 * Pierre Mauboussin (1900–1984) – co-designer of the Fouga CM.170 Magister
 * Hans Mauch (1906–1984) – jet engine pioneer, artificial limb developer
 * Mark D. Maughmer (born 1950) – aerodynamicist
 * Owen Maynard (1924–2000) – Avro Canada, NASA
 * Alessandro Mazzoni (1931–2016) – Piaggio chief engineer
 * William C. McCool (1961–2003) – died in the Columbia disaster
 * James Smith McDonnell (1899–1980) – founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
 * Colin R. McInnes (born 1968) – solar sail researcher
 * Marion O. McKinney Jr. (1921–1999) – NACA and NASA engineer, researched VTOL flight
 * William B. McLean (1914–1976) – lead designer of the AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile
 * George J. Mead (1891–1949) – engine designer
 * William C. Mentzer (1907–1971) – contributed to aircraft maintenance and economics
 * Wilhelm Messerschmitt (1898–1978) – designed Bf 109 and jet powered Me 262
 * Artem Mikoyan (1905–1970) – co-founder of the OKB-155 MiG design bureau
 * Mikhail Mil (1909–1970) – founder and general designer of the OKB-329 Mil design bureau
 * Alexander Mikulin (1895–1985) – engine designer, founded the OKB-24 Mikulin design bureau
 * Frederick George Miles (1903–1976) – designer at Miles Aircraft, husband of Maxine Blossom Miles
 * John W. Miles (1920–2008) – pioneer in theoretical fluid mechanics
 * Maxine Blossom Miles (1901–1984) – pilot, designer, draughtswoman, aerodynamicist and stress engineer, designer of the Miles Hawk
 * Clark Blanchard Millikan (1903–1966) – professor of aeronautics
 * Arseny Mironov (1917–2019) – Russian scientist, aerospace engineer and aircraft pilot
 * Don Mitchell (1915–1993) – sailplane designer
 * R. J. Mitchell (1895–1937) – designed the Spitfire aircraft
 * Swati Mohan – Mars 2020 engineer
 * Paul Moller (born 1936) – circular aircraft designer
 * Montgolfier brothers (1740–1810) (1745–1799) – inventors of the hot air balloon
 * John J. Montgomery (1858–1911)
 * Albert Mooney (1906–1986) – general aviation designer
 * Hans Moravec (born 1948) – space tether developer
 * Morien Morgan (1912–1978) – 'Father of the Concorde'
 * George Mueller (1918–2015) – NASA administrator
 * Alan Mulally (born 1945) – Boeing executive and President of Ford
 * Hans Multhopp (1913–1972)
 * Elon Musk (born 1971) – founder of SpaceX and co-founder of Tesla
 * Vladimir Mikhailovich Myasishchev (1902–1978) – founder of the OKB-23 Myasishchev design bureau

N

 * Aleksandr Nadiradze (1914–1987) – Soviet Georgian ballistic missile and rocket engineer
 * James C. Nance (1927–2019) – aircraft nuclear propulsion engineer
 * Gerhard Neumann (1917–1997) – engineer for General Electric, contributed to the design of the J79
 * Édouard Nieuport (1875–1911) – aviation pioneer
 * No Kum-sok aka Kenneth H. Rowe (1932–2022) – North Korean MiG-15 pilot defector, US aeronautical engineer and professor
 * Umberto Nobile (1885–1978) – semi-rigid airship designer
 * John Dudley North (1893–1968) – chief engineer at Boulton Paul Aircraft
 * Robert B. C. Noorduyn (1893–1959) – Noorduyn Norseman designer
 * Jack Northrop (1895–1981) – founded Northrop Corporation in 1939 and later the Flying Wing

O

 * Hermann Oberth (1894–1989) – rocketry pioneer
 * William C. Ocker (1880–1942) – instrument flying pioneer
 * Wendy Okolo (born 1984?) – NASA engineer
 * Gerard K. O'Neill (1927–1992) – developer of the O'Neill cylinder for space colonization
 * Minoru Ōta (aeronautical engineer) – Nakajima Aircraft Company

P

 * Frederick Page (1917–2005) – lead designer of the English Electric Lightning and the BAC TSR-2
 * Mark Page (born 1956) – blended wing body and UAV designer
 * Thomas O. Paine (1921–1992) – engineer, scientist, NASA administrator
 * Antonino Parano (aeronautical engineer) (1904–1952)
 * Paul C. Paris (1930–2017) – known for introducing fracture mechanics to the aviation industry
 * Bob Parkinson (born 1941) – HOTOL spaceplane developer
 * Jack Parsons (1914–1952) – rocket engineer, chemist, JPL founder
 * Vladimir Pavlecka (1901–1980) – invented flush rivets, designed the ZMC-2 rigid airship and pressurized transports
 * Nicolas Roland Payen (1914–2004) – delta wing developer
 * Richard Pearse (1877–1953) – early New Zealand aircraft builder
 * Jerome Pearson (1938–2021) – space elevator developer
 * George Edward Pendray (1901–1987) – co-founder of Reaction Motors
 * Harald Penrose (1904–1996) – test pilot and glider designer
 * Edgar Percival (1897–1984) – founder of the Percival Aircraft Company
 * Bruce Peterson (1933–2006) – NASA engineer and test pilot
 * Anatoly Perminov (born 1945) – former Roscosmos General Director
 * Vladimir Petlyakov (1891–1942) – founder of the Petlyakov design bureau
 * W. E. W. (Teddy) Petter (1908–1968) – designer at Westland, English Electric, and Folland
 * Frank Piasecki (1919–2008) – helicopter pioneer
 * William Hayward Pickering (1910–2004) – rocketry pioneer, JPL director
 * Percy Pilcher (1867–1899)
 * Harold Frederick Pitcairn (1897–1960) – autogyro developer
 * Curtis Pitts (1915–2005)
 * Paul Poberezny (1921–2013) – founder of the Experimental Aircraft Association
 * Mikhail Pogosyan (born 1956) – general director of Sukhoi and United Aircraft Corporation
 * Hermann Pohlmann (1894–1991) – designer of the Ju 87 Stuka
 * Nikolai Polikarpov (1892–1944) – founded the Polikarpov design bureau
 * Boris Popov – invented one of the first successful aircraft ballistic parachute systems
 * Henry Potez (1891–1981)
 * Herman Potočnik (1892–1929)
 * Ludwig Prandtl (1875–1953)
 * Ronald F. Probstein (1928–2021) – researched hypersonics including re-entry vehicle design
 * Ralph V. Pruitt (1936–1983) – integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays
 * Palmer Cosslett Putnam (1900–1984) – wind-power pioneer

Q

 * Qian Xuesen (1911–2009)

R

 * Fritz Raab (1909–1989) – motorglider designer
 * Vladimir Rachuk (born 1936) – liquid rocket engine designer at the Chemical Automatics Design Bureau
 * Arthur Emmons Raymond (1899–1999) – lead designer of the DC-3
 * R. Dale Reed (1930–2005) – NASA lifting body designer
 * Wendell E. Reed – developed jet engine controls
 * Wilfrid Thomas Reid (1887–1968)
 * Frederick Rentschler (1887–1956) – aircraft engine designer
 * Judith Resnik (1949–1986)
 * Osborne Reynolds (1842–1912)
 * Richard V. Rhode (1904–1994) – researched aerodynamic loading
 * Georges Ricard (1906–1981) – designer at Bréguet Aviation
 * Ben Rich (1925–1995) – director of Lockheed's Skunk Works; contributed to SR-71 and F-117 development
 * G. Tilghman Richards (1884–1960) – annular wing designer
 * John M. Riebe (1921–2011)
 * Norbert Riedel (1912–1963) – developed jet engine starting motors
 * Robert brothers (1758–1820) (1760–1820) – balloonists
 * Tecwyn Roberts (1925–1988) – Avro Canada, NASA
 * Frank D. Robinson (1930–2022) – helicopter designer
 * Alliott Verdon Roe (1877–1956)
 * Francis Rogallo (1912–2009) – NASA engineer, created the Rogallo wing which led to hang-gliding
 * Gertrude Rogallo (1914–2008) – wife and collaborator of Francis Rogallo
 * Frank E. Rom (1926–2012) – NASA nuclear propulsion engineer
 * Harold Rosen (1926–2017) – electrical engineer known as "the father of the geostationary satellite"
 * Milton Rosen (1915–2014) – lead designer of the Vanguard rocket
 * Jan Roskam (1930–2022)
 * Ludwig Roth (1909–1967)
 * Carlo Rubbia (born 1934) – fission-fragment rocket proposer
 * Edward J. Ruppelt (1923–1960) – director of Project Blue Book
 * Archibald Russell (1904–1995) – designed the Concorde, Blenheim, Britannia, and Type 188
 * Burt Rutan (born 1943) – airplane and spacecraft designer
 * Tubal Claude Ryan (1898–1982) – founder of the Ryan Aeronautical Company
 * Yuri Alekseevich Ryzhov (1930–2017) – aerodynamicist

S

 * Friedrich Wilhelm Sander (1885–1938) – pyrotechnics and rocket technology engineer
 * Eugen Sänger (1905–1964) – spaceplane designer
 * Irene Sänger-Bredt (1911–1983) – wife and collaborator of Eugen Sänger
 * George S. Schairer (1913–2004) – lead designer at Consolidated and Boeing
 * Helmut Schelp – jet engine pioneer
 * Alexander Schleicher (1901–1968) – sailplane designer
 * Paul Schmidt (1898–1976) – V-1 engine designer
 * Edgar Schmued (1899–1985) – lead engineer on the P-51, F-86, F-100, F-5, T-38
 * Raemer Schreiber (1910–1998) – nuclear rocket engine designer
 * Bernard Schriever (1910–2005) – managed ICBM development
 * Schweizer brothers – sailplane designers
 * William T. Schwendler (1904-1978) – co-founder of Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation
 * Robert Seamans (1918–2008) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator
 * William R. Sears (1913–2002) – flying wing designer
 * Ernest Edwin Sechler (1905–1979) – researched thin-shell structures
 * Anita Sengupta – led the JPL team that designed the Curiosity Mars rover parachute system
 * Lucien Servanty (1909–1973) – SO.6000 Triton and Concorde designer
 * Alexander P. de Seversky (1894–1974) – founder of Seversky Aircraft, later Republic Aviation
 * Joseph Francis Shea (1925–1999) – NASA Administrator for the Apollo Program
 * Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990) – perfected the carburetor on the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
 * Leonid Shkadov (1927–2003) – aircraft development and optimization engineer
 * Nevil Shute (1899–1960) – aeronautical engineer and author
 * Arkady Shvetsov (1892–1953) – chief engine designer at the OKB-19 design bureau
 * Igor Sikorsky (1889–1972) – pioneered helicopters
 * Ozires Silva (born 1931) – founder of Embraer
 * Abe Silverstein (1908–2001) – engineer, NACA and NASA administrator
 * Apollo M. O. Smith (1911–1997) – Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak, F3D, and F4D designer, pioneer in computational fluid dynamics
 * Herbert Smith (1889–1977) – designer of the Sopwith Triplane
 * John Maynard Smith (1920–2004) – military aircraft designer, later evolutionary biologist and geneticist
 * Joseph Smith (1897–1956) – designer at Supermarine
 * Ted R. Smith (1906–1976) – designer of the Aero Commander and Aerostar
 * Pavel Solovyov (1917–1996) – chief engine designer at the OKB-19 design bureau
 * Song Wencong (1930–2016) – lead designer of the Chengdu J-10
 * Thomas Sopwith (1888–1989) – Sopwith Aviation Company
 * Tony Spear – Mars Pathfinder project manager
 * Percival H. Spencer (1897–1995) – designer of the Republic RC-3 Seabee
 * Dorothy Spicer (1908–1946) – aeronautical engineer
 * Reginald Stafford (1903–1980) – designer of the Handley Page Victor
 * John Stack (1906–1972) – Bell X-1 designer
 * Lloyd Stearman (1898–1975) – founder of Stearman Aircraft
 * Adam Steltzner (born 1963) – JPL engineer for Mars rovers' entry, descent, and landing
 * Alan Stern (born 1957) – engineer and planetary scientist, principal investigator of the New Horizons mission to Pluto
 * Homer Joseph Stewart (1915–2007) – helped develop Explorer 1, Pioneer 4, and several rockets
 * Edward Stinson (1893–1932) – founder of the Stinson Aircraft Company
 * Luigi Stipa (1900–1992) – invented the "intubed propeller"
 * Harrison Storms (1915–1992) – directed North American Aviation's Apollo Program
 * William Bushnell Stout (1880–1956) – Ford Trimotor designer
 * Ernst Stuhlinger (1913–2008) – ion engine developer
 * Pavel Sukhoi (1895–1975) – founded the OKB-51 Sukhoi design bureau
 * Martin Summerfield (1916–1996) - co-founder of Aerojet
 * Sun Cong (born 1961) - chief designer of the FC-31 and Shenyang J-15
 * Joe Sutter (1921–2016) – chief engineer for the Boeing 747
 * Ed Swearingen (1925–2014) – general aviation designer
 * G. P. Swischjov (1912—1999) – aerodynamicist
 * Clarence Syvertson (1926–2010) – NACA / NASA researcher, developed sounding rockets, compression lift, lifting bodies
 * Victor Szebehely (1921–1977) – aerospace engineering and celestial mechanics

T

 * Max Taitz (1904–1980) – scientist in aerodynamics and flight testing of aircraft, one of the founders of Gromov Flight Research Institute
 * Kurt Tank (1898–1983) – designer of aircraft in Germany, Argentina, and India
 * Clarence Gilbert Taylor (1898–1988) – designer of the Piper Cub
 * Moulton Taylor (1912–1965) – experimental aircraft pioneer
 * Peter Theisinger (born 1945) – JPL Mars Exploration Rover project manager
 * Theodore Theodorsen (1897–1978) – aerodynamicist at NACA
 * Richard G. Thomas (1930–2006) – aeronautical engineer and test pilot
 * Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900–1974) – rocket and spacecraft pioneer
 * Milton Orville Thompson (1926–1993) – NASA engineer and test pilot
 * Grigori Tokaty (1909–2003) – rocket engineer
 * Alessandro Tonini (1885–1932) – designer at Gabardini, Macchi, and IMAM
 * Ivan I. Toropov (1907–1977) – chief missile designer at OKB-132, now Vympel NPO
 * Myron Tribus (1921–2016) – deicer developer, heat transfer researcher
 * Robert Truax (1917–2010) – Aerojet engineer, designer of the Sea Dragon heavy launch vehicle
 * Richard Truly (born 1937) – former astronaut and head of NASA
 * Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935) – rocketry pioneer
 * Tu Jida (1927–2011) – participated in the development of the Shenyang JJ-1, chief designer of the Nanchang CJ-6, Shenyang J-5A, Chengdu JJ-5, and several variants of the J-7 fighter, including the Chengdu J-7M
 * Sergey Tumansky (1901–1973) – engine designer, founder of the OKB-300 Tumansky design bureau
 * Andrei Tupolev (1888–1972) – founder of the OKB-156 Tupolev design bureau

U

 * Dana Ulery (born 1938) – JPL scientist, automated tracking of deep space probes
 * Ralph Hazlett Upson (1888–1968) – designed the world's only all-metal stressed-skin airship
 * Oskar Ursinus (1877–1952) – sailplane designer
 * Celestino Usuelli (1877–1926) – dirigible designer

V

 * Sitaram Rao Valluri (1924–2019) – researched metal fatigue
 * Kermit Van Every (1915–1998) – high-speed aircraft designer, Douglas Aircraft
 * Richard VanGrunsven (born 1939) – prolific kit aircraft engineer
 * Vandi Verma – JPL robot engineer
 * Vladimir Vetchinkin (1888–1950) – aerodynamicist
 * Walter G. Vincenti (1917–2019) – hypersonic aircraft designer
 * Aurel Vlaicu (1882–1913)
 * Richard Vogt (1894–1979) – designer of asymmetrical aircraft
 * Gabriel Voisin (1880–1973) – aviation pioneer
 * George Volkert (1891–1978) – designed the Handley-Page Halifax
 * Wernher von Braun (1912–1977) – German rocket pioneer
 * Theodore von Kármán (1881–1963)
 * Hans von Ohain (1911–1998)
 * Fritz von Opel (1899–1971) – rocketry pioneer
 * Chance M. Vought (1890–1930) – founder of Vought Aircraft
 * Traian Vuia (1872–1950) – first flight with no other ground devices
 * Gerald Vultee (1900-1938) – engineer, founder of Vultee Aircraft

W

 * Lawrence Wackett (1896–1982) – "father of the Australian aircraft industry", lead designer of the CAC Boomerang
 * Gerhard Waibel (born 1938) – sailplane designer
 * Dwane Wallace (1911–1989) – early Cessna CEO and designer
 * Richard Walker (1900–1982) – main designer for jet aircraft of Gloster Aircraft Company
 * Barnes Wallis (1887–1979)
 * Ken Wallis (1916–2013) – autogyro
 * Hellmuth Walter (1900–1980) – rocket engines
 * Joseph F. Ware Jr. (1916–2012) – Lockheed engineer and test pilot
 * Edward Pearson Warner (1894–1958) – NACA research engineer
 * Kyūichirō Washizu (1921–1981)
 * Frank Wattendorf (1906–1986) – von Karman assistant, wind tunnel designer
 * Johanna Weber (1910–2014) – aerodynamicist for the Handley-Page Victor and Concorde
 * Fred Weick (1899–1993) – airmail pilot, NACA research engineer who designed the NACA cowl, and designer of the Ercoupe and Piper Cherokee
 * Daniel Weihs (born 1942)
 * Edward Curtis Wells (1910–1986) – Boeing executive and designer
 * Ted A. Wells (1907–1991) – co-founder of Beech Aircraft Corporation
 * Michael J. Wendl (born 1934) – developed terrain following technology, energy management theory, and integrated fly-by-wire controls with engine inlets/nozzles and advanced pilot displays
 * Günter Wendt (1924–2010) – McDonnell Aircraft and North American Aviation engineer; pad leader, prepared all crewed Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft
 * Alexander Weygers (1901–1989) – discopter designer
 * Ray Wheeler (1927–2019) – Saunders-Roe designer of rockets and hovercraft
 * Orville A. Wheelon (1906–1966) – invented the Verson-Wheelon process for aircraft sheet-metal forming, introduced titanium fabrication
 * Richard Whitcomb (1921–2009) – NACA/NASA inventor of the area rule, supercritical airfoil, and winglet
 * Ed White (1930–1967) – Apollo 1 fire victim on January 27, 1967
 * Gustave Whitehead (1874–1927) – aviation pioneer
 * Frank Whittle (1907–1996) – pioneer of the jet engine
 * Michel Wibault (1897–1963) – invented vectored thrust
 * Robert H. Widmer (1916–2011) – lead designer on the B-36, B-58, F-111, and F-16
 * Sheila Widnall (born 1938) – fluid mechanics researcher
 * Stanisław Wigura (1901–1932)
 * Geoff Wilde (1917–2007) – Rolls-Royce engine designer
 * Heather Willauer (born 1974) – United States Naval Research Laboratory researcher of jet fuel manufacture from seawater
 * Oswald S. Williams Jr. (1921–2005)
 * Sam B. Williams (1921–2009) – small fanjet engine developer
 * Thornton Wilson (1921–1999) – B-47, B-52, and Minuteman missile designer
 * Steve Wittman (1904–1995) – air-racer and aircraft designer
 * Julian Wolkovitch (1932–1991) – promoted the closed wing
 * Homer J. Wood – auxiliary power unit designer
 * Pete Worden (born 1949) – NASA director
 * Wright brothers (1871–1948) (1867–1912) – made first powered airplane flight on Dec 17, 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC
 * Theodore Paul Wright (1895–1970) – engineer and administrator
 * Georg Wulf (1895–1927) – aviation pioneer
 * James Hart Wyld (1912–1954) – co-founder of Reaction Motors, designed the rocket engines for the Bell X-1 and RTV-A-2 Hiroc

X

 * Xu Shunshou (1917–1968) – oversaw the development of the Shenyang JJ-1 and participated in the design of the Nanchang CJ-6, the Nanchang Q-5, and the Xian H-6, died from mistreatment during the Cultural Revolution

Y

 * Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev (1906–1989) – founder of the OKB-115 Yakovlev design bureau
 * Mikhail Yangel (1911–1971) – founder of the OKB-586 design bureau
 * Ye Zhengda (1927–2017) – participated in the design of the Shenyang JJ-1
 * Chuck Yeager (1923–2020) – test pilot and first to break the sound barrier
 * Vladimir Yermolaev (1909–1944) – lead designer at OKB-240
 * Ed Yost (1919–2007) – developer of the modern hot air balloon
 * Arthur M. Young (1905–1995) – designer of the first Bell helicopter

Z

 * Albert Francis Zahm (1862–1954) – aeronautical experimenter and chief of the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Library of Congress
 * Stephen Joseph Zand (1898–1963) – solved many early aviation vibrations problems
 * Friedrich Zander (1887–1933) – rocket designer, solar sail and gavitational assist developer
 * Filippo Zappata (1894–1994) – worked for Gabardini, Cantieri Riuniti dell'Adriatico (CANT), Blériot, Breda, and Agusta
 * Engelbert Zaschka (1895–1955) – one of the first German helicopter pioneers
 * Helmut Zborowski (1905–1969) – rocket and VTOL designer
 * Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917) – airship designer
 * Nikolay Zhukovsky (1847–1921) – researcher
 * Henri Ziegler (1906–1998) – father of the Airbus program
 * Charles H. Zimmerman (1908–1996) – experimental aircraft designer
 * Robert Zubrin (born 1952) – Mars Society founder, designer of the theoretical nuclear salt-water rocket
 * Fritz Zwicky (1898–1974) – astronomer, patented several jet engine features