About the Author

Walter J. Boyne, an inductee into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, is one of the world's foremost authorities on aviation history. Both the National Aviation Club and the Air Force Association recognized him with Lifetime Achievement awards in aviation. A former director of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, he serves as the chairman of the board for the National Aeronautic Association. Boyne also founded the magazine Air & Space. He lives in Ashburn, Virginia.