The Lone Star Flight Museum, Houston, TX, has announced three new inductees for the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Selected this year are Bonnie J. Dunbar, John Dyer, and Meg Lonero, who will be honored posthumously. The three aviators will be formally inducted during the 2026 Texas Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and luncheon on April 10 at the Lone Star Flight Museum, located at Ellington Airport in Houston.
Anna Hawley, president and chief executive officer of the museum, said the newest class reflects the broad impact Texans have had across different parts of aviation. “The Class of 2026 is a well-deserving group of amazing aviators. We are honored to have them join the current 100 members of the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, and I invite all of Houston to support these individuals in this amazing achievement.”
Each inductee brings a different background in aviation and aerospace. Bonnie J. Dunbar is a former NASA astronaut and aerospace engineer whose career included work on design solutions for human spaceflight. In recent years, she has also been active in supporting aviation museums. John Dyer is a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War who later spent decades as a flight instructor. In 2024, he received the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, recognizing more than 50 years of safe flight operations. Meg Lonero, who died in 2015, held leadership roles at several Houston-area airports, including Hobby, Ellington, and Bush Intercontinental, while also flying as a pilot.
If you’d want to know a little more about the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, it was established in 1995 through a resolution passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by then Gov. George W. Bush. The program recognizes individuals, companies, and organizations connected to Texas that have made lasting contributions to aviation. The Texas Aviation Hall of Fame now includes roughly 100 individuals and groups recognized across several categories, including pioneers of flight, wartime aviators, industry leaders, and innovators. Among those previously honored are early aviators Bessie Coleman and Wiley Post, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, President George H. W. Bush, Flying Tigers pilot Tex Hill, and aviation entrepreneur Howard Hughes. Event sponsorship opportunities are currently open, while individual tickets for the induction ceremony are expected to go on sale beginning March 30, 2026. For more information and to support the Lone Star Flight Museum, click on this link: lonestarflight.org.
