Category:Aviators

They flew the aircraft moreso than built them.

"At the Dominguez air meet, a flyer of an airplane was called an aviator. The French used the more descriptive term pilote-aviateur. Today the operator of an aircraft is called a pilot, and there is no doubt as to the meaning of the term. In the early 20th century, however, the term 'pilot' was reserved for an operator or navigator of watercraft. To avoid confusion in the early 1900s, the distinct name "aviator" was given to pilots of aeroplanes and "aeronaut" to those piloting balloons and dirigibles. These appellations were soon dropped for the common pilot." – Pauley, 2009, p. 55.