Early Birds of Aviation

The Early Birds of Aviation is an organization devoted to the history of early pilots. The organization was started in 1928 and ultimately accepted a membership of 598. Membership was limited to those who piloted a glider, gas balloon, or airplane, prior to December 17, 1916. The cutoff date was set at December 17 to correspond to the first flights of Wilbur and Orville Wright. 1916 was chosen because large numbers of U.S. Americans were trained in 1917 as pilots for World War I. Many Early Birds went on to establish careers in public service and the aviation industry.

The original organization dissolved once the last living member had died. This occurred with the death of 99-year-old Early Bird George Debaun Grundy, Jr. on May 19, 1998. The current organization is devoted to collecting and publishing biographies on those who met the 1916 deadline. There were pilots who soloed before the 1916 deadline who never applied to the club to be members. Some have been made honorary members.

Members

External links

• Official website

References

• New York Times; October 11, 1953; The Men and Women Who Taught World To Fly Were a Dedicated Crew. "Early Birds" is an organization whose membership requirement is that the applicant must have flown in either an airship or an airplane during the first thirteen years of aviation. between 1903 and 1916.