The Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame resides in the Bellanca Aviation Museum, where Delaware's aviation flight history and artifacts are housed. Dramatic chapters in world aviation history have been written in Delaware. Important advances in aircraft design have been made here. Systems for improving the utility and safety of flight have been proved here; one of the world’s largest airlines sprouted its wings in the First State.
In World War II, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) headquartered in Delaware, and the Air Transport Command made Delaware a major jumping-off point for transatlantic operations. Today in the jet age, Delaware is a strategic springboard for military airlift on a global scale.
In the Space Age, Delaware scientists helped America reach the moon and probe the universe.
Many Delawareans have served their country valiantly with their gift of wings, some with their lives.
Memories of outstanding achievement in aviation and of the people who made it happen inspired establishment of The Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame. Its formation was announced on December 17, 1999, the 96th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ historic flight, with first inductions in 2000, the first year of the new millennium.
Delaware has many outstanding aviation pioneers, but only a few can be enshrined each year. Ironically, this constraint serves important objectives, including perpetuity of the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame and continual celebration of the State’s proud aviation history.
