Louisville Resident is a Decorated WW II Bomber Pilot

Maj. Gen. Philip Ardery USAFR (Ret), was a decorated World War II bomber pilot who served two combat tours in the European theater, including participation in the famed Ploesti raid. After the war, he was commander of the Kentucky Air National Guard for many years. Formerly of Paris, Ky, Gen. Ardery is now a Louisville resident.

(WASP) is a member of the Aviation Museum of Kentucky

Mary Edith Engle was an active member of the Blue Grass Flying Club at old Cool Meadow Airport prior to World War II. She was an early enlistee in the wartime Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) and flew many types of large military planes, including the B-29. Mrs. Engle continued postwar aviation activities via the International Organization of Women Pilots (the Ninety-Nines). A Lexington resident, Mrs. Engle is an active member of The Aviation Museum of Kentucky.

Kentucky pilot obtained C.A.A. license

Harry Peet (1884-1964) of Louisville and Winchester, in 1928 became the first of Kentucky's pilots to obtain a C.A.A. license. He was a pioneer of corporate aircraft use, conducting geological surveys, industrial and utility studies, airport planning and more. As the first chairman of the Powell County Airport Board, he led the successful two-year effort to obtain funds for the Stanton Airport which opened in 1952.

"Barnstorming" training in Kentucky

John Paul Riddle (1901-1989), a Pikeville native, trained in the U.S. Air Service in 1920 and 1921 and thereafter "barnstormed" and operated a flight training and charter service in eastern Kentucky. Later, in Cincinnati, he co-founded Embry-Riddle, which continued as a very successful training and aircraft sales company. During World War II, his companies trained thousands of World War II pilots, and developed a major air cargo airline.