"he no more contributed to aviation advances than all race car drivers since the invention of the rear view mirror"

I would have to disagree with that statement Chris.

The 3 players that have contributed a lot to the world are:

Burt Rutan -engineer,The father of newer composite aircraft design

Steve Fossett -test pilot and explorer

Richard Branson -adventurer and explorer who contributes to the advancements in environmentally friendly aircraft and space exploration to name a few.

Steve Fossett's adventures has give much data and improved design and safety for aircraft as well as space craft. His little balloon flight helped us study the violent wind currents at higher altitudes and are paving away to make transcontinental flight at a 80000 foot flight level more of a reality. The space shuttle for instance is a lot of composites aboard and Burt Rutan has helped Nasa out many of times overcome composite fatigue, leading into smart metal and smart avionics. Through all three of these players, the pilot, engineer and the financier have contributed so much to the industry. Steves feed backs from his solo flight around the world on a tank of gas to high altitude balloon flights have given Nasa a wealth of data to help improve on everything from aircraft, spacecraft, and on and on.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/releases/2006/release-20060109.html

Steve Fossett visiting the Kennedy Space Center in the Atlantic GlobalFlyer for covering a distance of 20,373 miles starting at the center.