Search results

Bob Henderson started gliding in 1975. It was only a few years later that Bob started serving the interests of his fellow glider pilots, initially at national level in many different roles including that of Chairman of the Technical Committee, Executive Officer and President of Gliding New Zealand. He was Operations Director of the 1995 World Championships in Omarama, and was a member of the International Jury for the World Championships that followed in France, Germany and South Africa. In 2002, Bob became New Zealand’s delegate to the IGC. In subsequent years, Bob’s dedication to gliding at international level steadily increased, with various appointments such as Senior Steward, Jury President (Germany) and International GP Referee (France, UK, New Zealand and Italy), Chairman of the IGC Gliding Rules Committee, 1st Vice President then President (8 years) of the FAI Gliding Commission. In 2012, Bob was appointed as an Executive Board member of the FAI, with the additional responsibility as head of FAI Air Sports Marketing & Events (FAME). Besides his outstanding dedication to gliding at national and international levels, Bob Henderson provided exemplary service to his country with the Royal New Zealand Air Force for 16 years before joining Air New Zealand as an airline pilot. For his outstanding leadership as the RNZAF Detachment Commander in the Gulf War, Bob was awarded the Air Force Cross. In 2012, Bob was appointed as a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sporting aviation. Bob’s dedication to the cause of sport aviation at the highest level.