Why do you think the feats of aviators sparked peoples' passions? Are there similar modern-day public displays?

Several aviators, male and female, were greeted by mobs, such as Elder's near successful completion of a trans-Atlantic flight. Why do you think these feats sparked peoples' passions? Can you think of modern-day public displays that similarly celebrate a person's or group's success?

One example that instantly comes to mind is the success of the Broadway play "Come From Away" which focuses on a female airline captain (and all her plane load of passengers as well as the local people who made their stay possible) after landing at Gander on 9-11.
http://news.aa.com/american-stories/american-stories-details/2017/A-famous-pilot-a-hit-musical-and-a-story-of-resilience/default.aspx

My Dad used to tell me about the barnstormers of the era--my God, flying? It was a miracle and these guys and gals took incredible chances with their loops and other acrobatics and to be in the air for hours and long distances? Unbelievable--almost touching the stars. I think car races like Daytona and other events like that are similar.

The Wright Brother was the beginning for me. I studied about them in school, as did many other of my friends, and we wanted to know how people could fly like the birds! My brother tried to test the theory by jumping off the garage roof, well that didn't work (and no broken bones). So then we tried jumping out of the barn hayloft, that didn't work either. For many years we tried silly things like that and realized one must have a power source to keep one in the air, our arms were not meant to be wings! Today, we have hang gliding, sky diving and winged flight suits to name a few. As far as racing planes, Reno Air Races is an annual event of great fun. One can go to almost any state to find air races today.

Things that seem unattainable always seem to spark passion in people, like the space race did for many years. And things that can expand our world or make it better, like flying - think of how it has changed our lives for the better in the last 75 years. And of course, if you tell someone they can’t do something, it can become something they strive to attain. Driverless cars. Robots who become increasingly human. Computers that seem to know what we are thinking.

The first thing that comes to mind are our female astronauts.

Athletics are another example.

I'm sure in that time it was that flight was something only birds did. Today I believe athletes bring these kinds of crowds. Have you ever watched Tiger Woods play a major and see the crowds that follow him. His fans are more mob like than anything I've ever seen before.