The Red Baron (World War I)
The most famous Real Life ace would be Rittmeister Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. He is the ace. In fact, he is usually referred to as the ace of aces, since ace simply wasn't enough.
(Richthofen was officially credited with 80 aircraft shot down, though he may have downed over 100). Richthofen was killed in 1918 (it's not definitively known who fired the kill shot, as it almost certainly came from the ground rather than from another plane). Considered a Worthy Opponent, the Allies gave him a full military funeral.
H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock (The A-Team)
Murdock was the best chopper pilot, as well as flying fixed wing aircraft, of the Vietnam War who is either mentally unstable or exceptionally good at pretending to be so. Although he was their pilot on the Hanoi bank raid, he was not officially part of the A-Team and so not tried by the military. We are introduced to a portion of Murdock's insanity in the pilot episode in which Amy Allen is questioning Hannibal about B.A. being passed out in his seat. Smith replies, "he hates the pilot." Amy asks why and Face replies, "because our pilot is insane." Then we see Murdock walk down the plane's passenger aisle while singing. The plane does NOT have autopilot.
Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Top Gun)
What kind of list would this be if we didn't include everyone's favorite reckless US Naval Aviator with a need for speed? He flies by the seat of his pants, after all. Tom Cruise's ability to flawlessly pull off the flight suit/aviator combo is, in itself, enough reason for him to be on this list, really. And though he might not graduate -top- from Top Gun, this Maverick proves that there isn't much truth to the -Those who can't do, teach- idiom. Because he can do. Period. And there's nothing wrong with choosing to instruct.
Han Solo (Star Wars franchise)
It would be a crime to not include Han Solo on a list of top fictional pilots (I mean, we wish he was real, that's for sure, but the real life Harrison Ford is a suitable substitution). What more do I have to say? This Captain of the Millennium Falcon has some serious skills maneuvering his (arguably) clunk of junk. Outgunned, outnumbered, this Class-A smuggler is an expert in evasive maneuvers, navigation, and manages to pull off a number of tricks from under his belt-all without the force.
World War I Flying Ace (Peanuts)
Snoopy's first appearance as the World War I Flying Ace was in the Peanuts comic strip from October 10, 1965, which saw him climb on top of his doghouse (claiming it was a Sopwith Camel biplane) to do battle with the Red Baron. The first television appearance of Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace was in the animated special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, initially broadcast on October 27, 1966. In the special, Schroeder appears to be happy to go along with Snoopy's game by playing popular songs from the World War I era on his toy piano. Snoopy will often admit that the things that he is doing are not historically accurate to real flying aces. Often, after an imaginary battle, Snoopy will call out "Curse you, Red Baron!"