Six aviation trailblazers have been named to the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s class of 2027, the Dayton-based Hall announced Monday, October 19, 2026, during the National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas. The new inductees will be formally enshrined at a ceremony on September 24, 2027, in Dayton, Ohio, the city where the Hall is based.
The class reaches from Mars to the model-rocket field. J. Bob Balaram, a NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory aerospace engineer, originated and served as chief engineer of the Mars Helicopter project, whose Ingenuity aircraft became the first to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet. Vernon Estes founded Estes Industries in 1958 and invented “Mabel,” a machine that made mass production of safe, affordable model rocket engines possible, putting rocketry within reach of generations of young builders.
Neal Vernon Loving, who is being honored posthumously, lost both legs in a 1944 glider accident, returned to flight, built a midget racer and became the first African American certified to race airplanes, alongside work as an aircraft designer and aeronautical engineer. Charles J. Precourt, a decorated Air Force veteran and test pilot, flew four space shuttle missions, piloted Atlantis during the first shuttle docking with Russia’s Mir station, and later served as chief of NASA’s Astronaut Corps and as a former NASA chief astronaut.
Judith A. Resnik, also honored posthumously, was selected in NASA’s 1978 astronaut class as one of the first six women in the U.S. Astronaut Corps and became the second American woman in space aboard Discovery’s maiden flight in 1984, before dying in the Challenger disaster in 1986. Rounding out the class is Steven Udvar-Hazy, an aviation entrepreneur and philanthropist credited with pioneering modern aircraft leasing, the business model that reshaped how airlines around the world acquire their fleets.
Founded in 1962 and based in Dayton, the National Aviation Hall of Fame is the only Congressionally chartered aviation hall of fame in the United States. A total of 283 individuals have been enshrined so far, and each new class is chosen by the Hall’s Board of Nominations. Last year’s class included Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III.
Hall president and CEO Aimee Maruyama said the organization is honored to announce the class of 2027, noting that each year the Hall recognizes inductees whose achievements have shaped history and inspire future generations. The six names reflect that breadth deliberately, honoring a Mars helicopter engineer and a model-rocket maker alongside astronauts, a pioneering racing pilot and the architect of modern aircraft leasing.
For Dayton, the September 24, 2027, enshrinement brings the national spotlight back to the Hall’s home city, long celebrated as the birthplace of aviation. Families, colleagues and the aviation community will gather in Dayton next fall to see Balaram, Estes, Loving, Precourt, Resnik and Udvar-Hazy formally take their places among the 283 already enshrined.
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