Learning Center Our Enshrinees

Will Rodgers

• Flew in mail planes, paying by the pound and cramming himself uncomfortably into the cockpit with the mail sacks, to allow him to travel faster to report news. Rogers would become the first passenger to make a round-trip transcontinental flight in a mail plane.
• Made an aerial benefit tour to raise money for victims of the Mississippi River flood in 1927.
• Visited Mexico on a goodwill mission with Charles Lindbergh (enshrined 1967) in 1927.
• Went on a flying tour with pilot Frank Hawks, giving performances to raise relief money during the Great Depression. The pair brought hope by raising a half-million dollars.
• Made more than 25 flights across the United States in 1933 and earned the moniker “Number One Air Passenger.”
• Made two flights around the world.
• Earned the cherished title of the “Patron Saint of Aviation.”
• Promoted aviation through his relationships with Billy Mitchel (enshrined 1966), Charles Lindbergh (enshrined 1967), Henry Ford (enshrined 1984), and Wiley Post (enshrined 1969). He also advocated the safety of air travel through his frequent flying.