AS YOU READ THE PROFILES of these engineers, operators, and entrepreneurs who shaped the vertical aviation industry, keep in mind that their success was not guaranteed. Each took a risk on the new technology of vertical flight—but that is what leaders do: they go forward first.
Above: Test pilot Joe Mashman takes the Bell Model 30 out for a spin along with some Bell colleagues, including Arthur Young (third from left, facing camera). | Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
Left: A 19-year-old Stanley Hiller flies the XH-44 “Hiller- Copter,” an aircraft he designed at age 17—having created a working model of the world’s first successful coaxial helicopter two years before, at age 15. | Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos, California.