RAeC Awards Other

Established in 1988 and awarded annually for an outstanding performance by a British aviator in a flying apparatus or device designed and built in the United Kingdom.

Awarded annually jointly by the Royal Aero Club and the Aero Club de France for achievements in the field of aviation that substantially produces the advantages of rotary winged flight, including VTOL and jet-lift aircraft.

Established in 1988 and awarded annually to a young person or group of young people between the ages of fourteen and twenty one, for outstanding work, performance or achievement in connection with any aspect of aerospace activity.

1988	2078 (Boscobel) Squadron ATC
1989	No award
1990	Alison Syrett
1991	A. Ball
1992-93	No award
1994	A.Holmes
1995	Joseph Turner Joseph Turner started competitive model flying in 1989 at the age of 12, competing in Senior events as Junior events virtually did not exist then. In 1993, aged 16, he achieved Best Junior Award at the BMPA Nationals, having graduated to International Control Line Class. In 1995 he was 2nd overa ll from 12 in one international competition, 4th of 9 juniors and 16th overall from 48 at the European Championships and 4th overall from 20 in the Spanish International World Cup.
1996	Jay Rebbeck Jay Rebbeck is 19 years old and already holds the FAI gliding silver and bronze badges, plus his diamond height award tor a flight during which he gained over 5,000 metres after release. He has flown with great success in the Junior British National Championships and Competition Enterprise, and in 1996 flew his 30 year old K6E from Bicester to Sutton Bank and back on a day without brilliant soaring conditions.
1997	Hugh Miller Hugh Miller won both the first FAI World Air Games Paragliding event in Turkey and the British Paragliding Championship, and contributed to the British team's silver medal win at the 1997 Paragliding World Championship in Spain. He is the youngest-ever winner of the National Championships.
1998	Mark Christy Mark Christy is 18 years old, and has already had a long record of success in competitive model flying, specialising in radio-controlled helicopters. He started model flying at the age of six, and at age 10, he qualified for a contest and public display licence for helicopters, the youngest person ever to achieve this. Since then, he has been a regular competitor and winner in National and International Contests, including the World Air Games.
1999	Lee Shelley Lee Shelley started flying radio-controlled models at the age of 7 and passed the BMFA primary and secondary tests within a year. He has gone on to sportsman-class aerobatics, and qualified for Master's grade competition in 1996. Though still only 16, he is a regular and increasingly successful competititor.
2000	Clare McLaughlin Clare McLaughlin learned to fly and went solo at the age of 17, and has since completed a PPL. She was awarded one of only two RAF University Scholarships. She is currently an undergraduate at Bristol University, and has continued her flying training with the University Air Squadron. She is one of the first girls to be recommended for 'Fast Jets'.
2001	Rachel McLaughlin Rachel McLaughlin had completed her PPL by the age of 16 but had to wait until her 17th birthday before the CAA/JAA awarded her licence. She funded her own flying lessons and self-studied for the exams, averaging over 90% in the JAA written papers.
2002	Jonathon Gowing Jonathon Gowing is now 18 years old. He has been actively interested in ballooning since he was 12, and has logged 800 hours airborne time. After leaving school in 2002 he passed his balloon PPL in only 12 weeks.
2003	Jennifer Beesley. Jenny Beesley is 20 years old. She was a member of 2430 Sqn ATC and became a Flight Sergeant. She achieved a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and a Gliding Scholarship, and at weekends she worked for Fenland Flying Club for four years. She was awarded an Air League Scholarship and gained a PPL in August 2001, and then became an instructor at an ATC Gliding School. She joined the RAF and in 2003 was awarded best Student in Flying on the EFT Course. She has been selected to start fast jet training in 2004.
2004	Matthew Hart. Matthew Hart is 17 years old, and has been flying control line model aircraft in F2A speed competitions for three years. He has regularly been a member of the UK team at European and World Championships, winning several medals in junior competitions, including European Gold. He also competed in the US Open Nationals in 2004, where he set a World record for his age group of 281 kph, and also an event record for jet-power. He is still at school, and has been accepted for an Engineering degree course at Heriot-Watt university.
2005	Daniel Billam. Daniel Billam started flying competitions for rubber-powered free-flight models when he was 11. Since 2003 he has been a regular member of the UK international team in this class, and was 9th in the Junior World Championships in 2004. In 2005 he moved up to the senior team and his second-highest placing in the UK team contributed to the team's overall 9th place in the World Championships in Argentina. He also competed in indoor duration flying and won two classes at the European Indoor Championships in 2004.
2006	Christopher Lawrence. Christopher Lawrence joined Norfolk Gliding Club's Cadet Scheme in 2004, and achieved his first solo on his 16th birthday on Boxing Day 2005. He has since gained a Bronze Badge, 100 km Diploma and two sections of a Silver Badge. He has absorbed himself in the life of the club; he is a very regular volunteer worker at the launch point, and is serving on the Club's Strategy Committee.
2007	Daniel Billam. Daniel Billam started flying competitions for F1B rubber-powered free-flight models when he was 11. He has been a regular member of the UK international team since 2003. He was previously awarded the Rolex Trophy for 2005, but his subsequent successes in international competition merit a further award. He is still only 17 years old. He achieved the best senior UK placings in the World Cup in France in 2005 and 2006, and in 2006 he won Gold in the Junior World Championship in Germany.

Established in 1997 and awarded annually to a person aged 65 or over who flies or who has only ceased flying in the previous year, and who has been conspicuously involved in aviation and sport aviation in particular, for their work, initiative, devotion or in other ways.

Established in 1997 and awarded annually to the journalist, producer or author of the outstanding media item on sporting and recreational aviation during the previous year.

Established in 1998 and awarded in recognition of the vital help provided to British air sport by those organisations who support its member organisations by means of sponsorship or the provision of facilities for national teams or otherwise.

Established in 2005. It acknowledges people making a major contribution to flying instruction benefitting the BGA, BMAA, and BHPA. Normally there is one award each year, but for its first year, awards were made for each of these three organisations.

1956	P. Morain
1957	R. Hafner
1958	R. Dorand
1959	Dr J.A.J. Bennett
1960	C. Marchetti
1961	Dr G.S. Hislop
1962	Dr D.A. Griffith
1963	Sir S. Camm
1964	F. Le Grand
1965	T.L. Ciastula
1966	J.R. Szydlowski
1967	H.E. Le Sueur
1968	H. Burns
1969	O. FitzWilliams
1970-72	No award
1973	Wg.Cdr. K.H Wallis
1974	J. Moine
1975	Miss G Absalom
1976	R. Mouille
1977	J.S. Shapiro
1978-79	No award
1980	J. Cameron
1981	No award
1982	E. Brown
1983	J. Boulet
1984	A. Bristow
1985	G. Petit
1986	R. Moxam
1987	P.A. Everard
1988	C. Schmitt
1989	No award
1990	HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
1991-96	No award
1997	Michael Smith Michael Smith, with his son, has competed in every World Helicopter Championship since they started. He was involved in the original design of the events and the initiation of the sporting side of helicopter use.
1998-2000	No award
2001	Imogen Asker At this year’s British Helicopter Championships Imogen Asker was co-pilot and navigator in a two woman crew competing against nine military crews and fifteen other civilian crews. Despite having only 100 hours Imogen’s team won handsomely.
2002-03	No award
2004	Simon Oliphant-Hope. In June 2004, Simon Oliphant-Hope established a new World Record for a round-the-World flight by a helicopter. He started and finished at Shoreham, and made an East-bound circumnavigation via Russia. He encountered some severe ocean storms and crossed mountains of over 10,000 ft. He completed the flight in 17 days, beating the record by seven days.
2005-06	No award
2007	Jennifer Murray & Colin Bodill. Between December 2006 and May 2007 Jennifer Murray and Colin Bodill set a new FAI World Record by flying round the world via both the South and North Pole in a helicopter. They covered 32,000 nautical miles in the 171-day journey, making over 120 stops and visiting 26 countries. Their success raised a considerable sum for charity. Their achievement was particularly notable because both pilots had suffered serious injuries from crashing into an Antarctic ice shelf on a previous attempt in 2003.

1988	K. H. Wallis
1989	No award
1990	D. Cameron & G. Oparin
1991	A. Elson, E. Jones, C. Dewhurst, L. Dickinson
1992-96	No award
1997	Bruce Goldsmith Bruce Goldsmith heads the team responsible for the series of designs which led up to the Airwave XMX paraglider, equipped with the wing-flex system. This won the FAI World Paragliding Championships in Spain. This win was the rare combination of a British pilot flying a British-designed glider manufactured by a British company.
1998	John Edgley John Edgley's made original use of new materials and construction methods in the design of his EA9 Optimist glider. This material is Fibrelam, developed by Ciba-Geigy, and was initially used for commercial aircraft floors. John has demonstrated the suitability of this material as a replacement for wood in primary structures, which has facilitated the production of the EA-9 in kit form for home construction. The EA9 has been flown competitively by Derek Piggott.
1999	Don Cameron Don Cameron has made a very major contribution over many years to the design of hot air balloons. His development of the Rozier hot-air/helium hybrid concept enabled the trans-Atlantic and then round-the-World flights to be achieved. He has also been responsible for the development of commercial balloon operations, including a great variety of special-shape balloons and hot-air airships. He is a very experienced balloon pilot and has flown his own designs in many competitions and record attempts.
2000-02	No award
2003	David Hempleman-Adams. In September 2003 David Hempleman-Adams achieved the first Atlantic crossing in a balloon with an open wicker basket. The balloon was a British-made Rosiere 90. Starting from New Brunswick, the flight took 83 hours, during which some severe weather including heavy rain and freezing temperatures were encountered, but finished with a safe landing near Blackpool. Earlier in the year he had made a 30 hour flight in USA from Pittsburgh to Boston.
2004	Steve Elkins. Steve Elkins is a hang glider pilot who has been a member of the British team for nearly 20 years, flying hang gliders made by his own Company in Britain. In 1988, he bought the rights to the Clubman basic design and set up Avian Ltd to manufacture them. This evolved into the Elan and Armour models. Later designs included the Cheetah which pioneered carbon-fibre spar technology. Avian is now the only hang glider manufacturer in the UK. In January 2005, he will again be flying an aircraft of his own design and manufacture at the World Championships.
2005-07	No award

1997	Peggy Follis Peggy Follis gained her PPL at the age of 79, the oldest lady to do so. Now aged 86, she gained her IMC rating a year later and is at present campaigning to get partially deaf pilots accepted by the CAA. She is interested in all aspects of aviation and flies whenever the weather permits.
1998	Wing Commander Gerry Turnbull Gerry Turnbill is still regularly flying balloons at the age of 81. His involvement started with the RAF at Cardington in the 1940's and he commanded the RAF's balloon flying activity until the 1960's. He regularly flew gas balloons. He was the first British pilot to fly the modern-style hot air balloons and he contributed to the British pre-eminence in this field. He was also a parachutist and commanded the Parachute school at Abingdon. After leaving the RAF, he became a director of GQ Parachute Company. His recent flying has included aerial work with hot-air airships, and sport flying in gas balloons.
1999	Bert Miles Bert Miles learned to fly in Canada in 1944, and returned to civilian flying in 1956. He started a long involvement with Air Racing in 1967. He has taken part in every National Air Race for the last 15 years, and has twice been the British Air Racing Champion. At the age of 75, he is one of the most consistently successful racing pilots.
2000	John Houlder John Houlder has been the operator of Elstree Airfield since 1952. He qualified for a PPL before the war and is still a very active pilot, despite suffering a damaged arm in 1942. He has over 15,000 hours in his logbooks and has owned an Aero Commander twin for 30 years. In the last few years he has undertaken some very long trips in it: to Zanzibar in 1995, to Pakistan in 1997, and across the Atlantic and round the USA, Alaska and Canada in 2000. He is 84 years old.
2001	Peter Thorn Pete Thorn joined the Royal Air Force in 1953 flying Meteors and Javelins. He became an instructor in 1967 and later flew Hurricanes and Spitfires in the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. Pete left the RAF in 1988 and joined Oxford Air Training School as an Instructor, where he still instructs part time. He trained the Diamond Nine Tiger Moth Team for many years, and is a Council Member of the Historic Aircraft Association. For many years Pete has been involved with the RIAT Flying Scholarships for the Disabled, serving on the selection board and instructing.
2002	Beryl Thorp Beryl Thorp is now 71 years old, and has a share in a Cherokee. She has been successful in several competitions, including winning the Dawn-to-Dusk in 1999. She has raised money through sponsorship for the BWPA Scholarship Fund and the Air Ambulance. She is actively involved with the Shobdon Aero Club, where she mans the radio and is social events organiser. She is a member of the BWPA, the PFA, and the Guild of Aviation Artists.
2003	Derek Piggott. Derek Piggott is 81. He learned to fly with the RAF 61 years ago and is still flying. Post-war he established UK height records for single and two-seat gliders. For many years he was the chief gliding instructor at Lasham. He still instructs there and took part in the 2003 UK Club Class Championships. As well as gliding, he flew replica vintage aircraft in a number of films, including "Those Magnificent Men" and "Blue Max".
2004	David Cahill. David Cahill is 72 years old. He has been flying for over 30 years and owns a quarter-share in a Cherokee Arrow. He has held a PPL for over 30 years and has over 2000 hours in the logbook. He has been a regular competitor in Air Rallies at home and at several Mediterranean venues, and has achieved several victories in navigation and arrival time competitions. Though he has recently given up because of the cost, he was also a regular racing pilot.
2005	Rita Boniface. Rita Boniface is now 73 years old, and still flying. She started in 1970, and was a part-time instructor at Southend for eight years. She was particularly interested in aerial photography, including airborne archaeology. She has promoted flying by giving numerous talks to youth organisations and clubs such as the WI and Rotary. She has been a member of BWPA for over 30 years and served on its committee in several roles, currently chairing the Awards and Scholarships sub-committee. She also helps out with Air League and RAeC functions and is also an active member of the European Women Pilots' Association. She has recently regained her pilots licence after accident injuries four years ago.
2006	Harry Mason. Harry Mason was 87 years old on 23rd April. He joined the RAF in 1938 and served as an aircraft fitter until 1946. He was too good at his job and his requests for aircrew training were repeatedly refused. Eventually he won a scholarship to learn to fly at Yeadon in 1955. He started flying aerobatics in 1997 and in 2000 entered his first competition, flying a Pitts Special, aged 80! He is still flying in competitions and beating people 40 years his junior, including 3rd place in the 2006 Tiger Trophy.
2007	Jim O'Donnell. Jim started flying with the Scottish Gliding Union in 1955 and became an Instructor. He also instructed for the Air Training Corps until 1967, and then for the Air Scouts. From 1972 until 1976 he was CFI at Portmoak. He became involved with aircraft preservation at East Fortune Aircraft Museum in 1973, and since 1986 he has organised the ‘Tuesday Group’ of elderly glider pilots who work there. He promoted gliding by giving many aerobatic displays around Scotland in the 1970s and 80s,. Since its inception he has supported the ‘Walking On Air' charity for disabled glider pilots, both as an instructor and tug pilot. He is now 84, but continues to fly the tug and gliders at Portmoak and to tour the country in a motor glider.

1997	Dean Squire & Mark McCauley Dean Squire and Mark McCauley produced a masterly BBC News 24 TV programme on learning to glide, which effectively captured the delights, challenges and satisfactions of the sport by making good use of on-board mini-cameras, while being made unobtrusively with the Ulster Gliding Club.
1998	No award
1999	David Wootton David Wootton learned paragliding in 1988. He has taken a lead in promoting hang gliding and paragliding in the media. He has provided high quality photographs to newspapers and magazines, and has had articles published in over 40 magazines in the last two years. He has an increasing involvement in television programmes, recently including ITV's Don't Try This At Home, C4's Scrapheap, and BBC's Essential Guide To Weather, while full half-hour features are under negotiation. He was responsible for a virtual hang-gliding simulator which has been a very popular feature at several exhibitions.
2000	Lesley Gale Lesley Gale has been parachuting for 16 years and has made over 2300 jumps, including winning medals in international competitions. In 1995 she became Editor of BPA's Skydive magazine. She turned it round so that it became profitable, while its quality is recognised world-wide. In 2000 she launched a major initiative aimed at retaining beginners in the sport after their initial jumps. This is a publication called the Skydive Starter Mag, which is distributed free to all UK parachute clubs to give to their students. It is playing a valuable role in sustaining their interest and encouraging them to progress within the sport.
2001	John Christopher John Christopher has recently retired as Editor of The Aerostat, a post he held from 1989. He has, in the past year, written two books on ballooning and has published articles in many journals and newspapers. John was also the founding Editor of Dirigible, the Journal of the Airship Heritage Trust.
2002	Mungo Amyatt-Leir Mungo Amyatt-Leir is the Managing Director of Just Flight Ltd and PC Pilot magazine, which has a monthly readership of about 40,000. He has taken the lead in promoting computer-simulated flying in Britain. The FAI has recognised the importance of simulated flying, including competitions, as a step towards real flight. He is actively involved in the RAeC Trust Flying For Youth initiative, and has donated a bursary to help convert from simulated flight to real flight.
2003	The Skywings Team. Skywings is the house-magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Joe Schofield took over as Editor in December 1992 and was joined three months later by Colin Fargher as Designer - both are also experienced hang-glider pilots. They initially worked to an established format, but in 1998 they launched a major new image for the magazine, and have continued to evolve its style to keep it fresh, lately moving to full colour.
2004	No award
2005	Neil Lawson. Neil Lawson was a professional photographer and glider pilot. He linked these two subjects and built up a library of gliding and other aviation pictures spanning 30 years. He formed the White Planes Picture Company in 1999, to exploit this, using the internet. He continued to take excellent pictures of gliders, including providing the cover picture for almost every issue of Sailplane & Gliding magazine. Neil was unfortunately killed in an accident while photographing the Junior World Gliding Championships in 2005, and the award was made posthumously.
2006	No award
2007	Michael Bird. Michael Bird is known to generations of Sailplane & Gliding readers as the columnist Platypus. This emerged in 1969 eight years after Michael first began writing for the magazine, and nearly 40 years later still appears in every issue The column is both funny and insightful, ranging from witty one-liners about the baser aspects of gliding life to the complexities of the theory of flight. For many readers it is the first page they turn to and the reason they buy the magazine. A collection of his Platypus writings was published as a book in 2000.

1998	Shepway District Council. This is in recognition of their sponsorship of the Royal Aero Club participation in the "Flying Start" event held at Folkestone in September 1998. Seven RAeC member organisations took part in this, and it was a great success in generating public interest. It is hoped that this will be repeated at Folkestone, and serve as a model for similar collaborations with other local government authorities.
1999	Breitling Swiss Chronographs. The Breitling Company has been manufacturing aircraft instruments and pilots' watches since the earliest days of aviation. They have been major sponsors of many aviation events, including display teams, international competitions, and three attempts to fly round the world by balloon, culminating in the success by Breitling Orbiter 3 in March 1999. They have also been regular sponsors of the Royal Aero Club's presentation evening.
1999	Tony Hines and Lord Trefgarne. Tony Hines and David Trefgarne have been responsible for securing substantial funding for the Popular Flying Association's Pilot Coaching Scheme. This has enabled the Scheme to develop continuation training to match the new requirements of JAA internationally harmonised PPLs.
2000	Tony Holden. Tony Holden was the catalyst behind establishing the Royal Aero Club Internet Website in 1999. He managed the setting up of the site and donated the registration of the domain name. He has continued to host the site and to look after the loading of updated material. He has recently also provided a home for the web-site for the RAeC Trust. These web-sites make a major contribution to public awareness of the Club and Trust.
2001	No award
2002	David Bryan. David Bryan is Managing Director of Sonic Communications International, which provides specialist communications equipment. Since 1992 he has supported the RAeC Records, Racing and Rally Association by providing advanced communications equipment, including air-to-ground links and a control centre, to provide the public with a commentary at air racing events.
2003	Peter Elliott. Peter Elliott is Head of the Department for Research and Information Service at the RAF Museum, Hendon. This includes responsibility for the archive of books, albums, paintings and other memorabilia owned by the RAeC. He has been of great help to the RAeC and the RAeC Trust in their work to conserve these relics, including obtaining professional help in assessing them and applying for grants for conservation work.
2003	Yvonne Jukes. Yvonne Jukes ran the Airsports Insurance Bureau for Reggie Spooner when he set it up in 1976. It was initially to provide specialist cover for Hang Gliding but expanded to include coverage for several other air sports. Reggie Spooner gave the AIB to the BHGA when he retired in 1992, and it has continued to be managed very successfully and profitably by Yvonne. She has become renowned for arranging special cover at short notice and for arranging help for her customers who have had accidents abroad.
2003	Victoria Osborne. Victoria Osborne is Marketing and PR Manager of TWG Distribution Ltd, the UK agents for Breitling Chronographs. They have sponsored the RAeC Awards Ceremony programme brochure for several years, and she has been responsible for arranging the quality artwork, typesetting and printing to meet the requirements of the occasion, and to enable the Club to use extra copies for publicity and PR.
2004	Stewart Luck. Stewart Luck is a commercial pilot and has been a member of the PFA EC for six years. He has a passionate interest in youth involvement and education. He originated and initially funded the "UK Build-a-plane" project, involving groups of Air Cadets and Air Scouts across the country in the construction of an aircraft, with each group building a part of it. This has enabled hundreds of children to be involved. They will see their handiwork fly, and several of them will fly in it when it is completed.
2005-06	No award
2007	Richard Crabtree. Richard Crabtree has been the Administrator of the Royal Aero Club Trust for several years. He joined the Trust as a volunteer and focussed on developing the Flying Bursary scheme for young people. This has enabled them to improve their proficiency in a variety of air sports. He subsequently became a Trustee and his background and experience have been of considerable assistance to the Trust. His involvement with classic cars helped to spread awareness of the unique items in the RAeC Collection, particularly the albums which belonged to the Hon. C S Rolls. This resulted in many donations, enabling these albums to be restored for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations as well as their contents being made available to Rolls-Royce enthusiasts, world-wide.

2005	Charlie Kovac of BGA. Charlie Kovac started gliding in Yugoslavia in 1940. After the war, he settled in England and returned to gliding, becoming an Instructor at Lasham in 1965. He has taught many hundreds of pilots to fly, and more recently he has coached and developed the skills of numerous instructors from many other clubs. He has also qualified for an FAI Gold Badge. His inspiration and hard work for others was recognised by election as a Life Member of the Lasham Gliding Society, and is further acknowledged by the Ann Welch Award.
2005	Mark Shaw of BHPA. Mark Shaw began paragliding in 1990 and trained as an instructor in 1996. After further experience overseas, he qualified as a Senior Instructor in 2002. He became CFI of the new Peak Airsports in early 2003, training 30 students a year, and concentrating on high-quality training in small groups. He was seriously injured flying in the Alps in 2004, but has recovered to fly again and continues to run the school full time. His former students can be readily identified by their exemplary technique and safety.
2005	Gerry Breen of BMAA. Gerry Breen started gliding at the age of 13 and became an RAF gliding instructor when he was 17. On leaving the RAF in 1974, he set up a hang-glider manufacturing company and opened the Welsh Hang Gliding Centres, which became Britain's most successful schools. He co-authored the first book on hang-gliding with Ann Welch. In 1976, he pioneered powered hang-gliding, operating successfully at Enstone until 1984. As well as instructing, he set many records and was involved in several expeditions and films. In 1985, he set up a flying school in the Algarve, instructing on weight-shift and three-axis microlights. He is a CAA Flying Instructor Examiner, a BMAA and PFA Inspector, and Britain's only authorised Seaplane Microlight Instructor and Examiner.
2006	John Henry. John Henry started gliding as an ATC Cadet in 1948 and joined the Scottish Gliding Union in 1951. He became an instructor in 1959 and has continued to instruct at various Scottish Clubs ever since. He gained a PPL in 1974 and qualified as a motor-glider instructor and tug pilot. He is also a microlight check-pilot and a PFA test pilot. He instructs for the "Walking on Air" disabled pilots scheme. All of this as an unpaid volunteer. He has a good track record of success with students which other instructors have given up.
2007	Graham Phipps. Graham Phipps started Hang Gliding instructing over twenty years ago in Cornwall. He has made a big contribution to the development of hang gliding in the South West. He now includes training utilising towing, which has made tuition more available and controlled, and he also provides paragliding tuition. This has broadened access for the less physically able and for all ages. His school operates with low numbers to ensure good progress. He has had notable success in producing pilots who stay in the sport. and he continues coaching ex-students after their formal training. He flies at top competition level as a member of the British Hang Gliding Team.

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