Donald P. Taylor (October 1, 1918 – December 2, 2015) was an American aviator, notable for being the first person in history in the late summer and early fall of 1976 to successfully fly a

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

around the world.

Career

From an early age, he'd resolved "I will build an airplane, and I will fly it round-the-world." His plane, ''Victoria '76'' (named for the only one of

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...

's ships to complete her mission), a Lycoming-powered Thorp T-18 (N455DT) was fitted with improved communications and navigational equipment as well as a new fuel system after his initial

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

round-the-world attempt had to be aborted due to bad weather between Japan and the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

. Taylor, who lived at the time in California, returned to his starting point of

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

a hero two months to the day after the August 1, 1976, start of his eastbound journey. The planning of this circumnavigation was especially complicated considering that both the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

were closed to U.S. general aviators at the time. Taylor flew Victoria 76 to Australia and back in 1980. Taylor flew ''Victoria '76'' to both the true

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

and the Magnetic North Pole in 1984. Although the aircraft had a special heritage, he used "her" for routine transportation to-and-from his isolated ranch in the Southern California high semi-desert. In the early 1980s he had offered the T-18 to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. for display, but he was unable to obtain a firm agreement from them to display her to the public as he wished. Instead, ''Victoria '76'' is now on display at the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 300,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. ...

's AirVenture museum in Oshkosh. His civilian flying awards include the FAA Distinguished Service Award (1977) and the NAA Harmon Internal Trophy (1984 Aviator) which was presented to him on March 20, 1989, by Vice President

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party (United States), ...

. Taylor maintained an active involvement and interest in aviation. He was on a mission-control team supporting the round-the-world flight of the

Rutan Voyager The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Moja ...

in December 1986

Early career

Taylor retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in 1962, having seen action during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater. During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

he was stationed in Alaska, servicing the newly created Distant Early Warning Line EW-Linestations with air cargo and electronics expertise. In the Late 1950s he commanded an Air Training Command (ATC) Detachment that was responsible for teaching Thor Missile maintenance and operation to RAF personnel in central England.

Death

He died in December 2015 at the age of 97.

References

External links

Picture of Taylor flying Victoria '76
on Earthrounders.com
Additional images, info, and routing of Taylor's 1976 RTW trip
{{Authority control 1918 births 2015 deaths American aviators United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces officers United States Air Force colonels People from Las Cruces, New Mexico