Vincent Justus Burnelli (November 22, 1895 – June 22, 1964) was an American aeronautics engineer, instrumental in furthering the lifting body and flying wing concept.

Burnelli was born in Temple, Texas. With his friend, John Carisi, he designed his first airplane in 1915, at Maspeth, Queens, New York. The open biplane was first demonstrated at the old Hempstead Plains Aviation Field, later to become Roosevelt Field. A few years later, he designed a "night fighter" in the hopes that it would be used as a combat aircraft in World War I. His hopes were not realized, but he did sell the plane to the New York City Police Department, when plans were made to create an aerial police operation.

In 1919, Burnelli refined his ideas about aircraft design, after he had built what is believed to have been the world's first large commercial airliner in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the Lawson Airlines.

Burnelli was one of the first American designers to capitalize on the "flying wing" mystique. In the 1920s, he produced two biplane transports with large, airfoil-shaped fuselages that contributed a considerable portion of the airplane's lift. His goal was to develop a more efficient airplane that could carry a large payload. Although Burnelli referred to his lifting body transports as "flying wings", his production aircraft invariably retained some kind of a tail, frequently supported by upswept booms that extended rearward. More accurately, Burnelli had a "lifting body" design rather than a true "flying wing" where all major aeronautical components are housed within the wing.