An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft, especially an airplane. The word sounds more formal and adventurous than “pilot,” calling to mind the early days of flight when aviators were daring pioneers exploring a new frontier.

In the early 1900s, aviators like Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh became heroes by pushing the limits of what was possible in the sky. They flew across oceans in small, unreliable planes with basic instruments, risking their lives to prove that air travel could connect the world. These early aviators wore leather jackets, goggles, and silk scarves to protect themselves in open cockpits where wind screamed past at over 100 miles per hour.

Today, we still use aviator to describe pilots, though it often suggests someone with exceptional skill or a touch of that pioneering spirit. Military pilots are frequently called aviators, as are pilots who perform aerobatics or fly experimental aircraft. You might hear about a naval aviator flying jets off aircraft carriers or a bush aviator landing small planes in the remote Alaskan wilderness.