It is rare that a candidate would exhibit strengths in all three avenues leading toward the Lilienthal Award, but James M Payne has done so. Jim, known as 'Jet Pilot' to his soaring friends, set two World Records in 2000, which brings his total to five. Not only were they international marks, but they bettered a previous record of Ingo Renner of below 200 km/h to an astounding 246 km/h. Jim has flown triangles and Out and Return flights in the wave generated by the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. He has personally set the five fastest records ever in a glider. Although 246 km/h sounds fast, he actually has two Out and Return flights even faster: 500 km at 247.49 km/h (154 mph) and 300 km at 167 mph.
In the USA the National Aeronautic Association annually selects top record flights from the entire spectrum of aviation. Jim Payne�s flights have been honored in three of the past four years. These pioneering flights blazed a trail for other soaring pilots to follow. Jim has always maintained safety first. He has previously computed the Vne for the altitudes and conditions he expected to fly and has stayed within those published limits. Although he first started wave flying back in 1996 other pilots have not been able to duplicate or better his exploits. He freely shares his knowledge in seminars and presentations at the SSA annual convention. He has written articles for Soaring (copied in other countries� magazines) describing the safety procedure necessary for this type of flying. Jim Payne has rendered eminent service to the sport of gliding over the years. He was team captain for the US team at five World Soaring Contests - Australia, Austria, Uvalde, Sweden and New Zealand. He has been President of the Sailplane Racing Association, Chairman of the Contest Rules Committee, Director of the Collegiate Soaring Association, Director-at-Large of the Soaring Society of America, Director of the SSA and Vice President of the SSA. He has been National Champion, and in the top three at five other national contests. He has set 56 National records and 5 World Records. His 1'000 km triangle flight in a standard class glider earned him a coveted spot at the Hilton Cup camp in 1998. He has won the Tundtland Award for a flight test article about soaring and the SSA Exceptional Achievments Awards twice. Jim Payne exemplifies the best in achievements and willingness to give back of his time and experience to other pilots.
Ms. Hana Zejdova, born in 1962, is a Czech citizen and a member of the Aero Club of the Czech Republic, and has flown more than 3,000 flying hours and over 135,000 km as a glider pilot. She won the title of European Women�s Gliding Champion in 1993 in 15m, and holds more than 120 national gliding records in both general and women�s categories). Between 1997 and 1999 she broke more than 50 world gliding records (in both categories). In addition, Hana Zejdova holds the FAI Gold Gliding Badge with three diamonds as well as the 1,000 km FAI Glider Flight Diploma and the Pelagia Majewska Gliding Medal.
The contributions of Professor Loek Boermans in the field of low-speed aerodynamics have been recognised by FAI and others, throughout his distinguished professional career. With the same level of dedication and professionalism, Professor Boermans has served for 37 years in the leadership of OSTIV, the only scientific organisation within the FAI. Under his guidance, OSTIV has played an essential role in the evolution of sailplane design, flight training, pilot safety, and our understanding of the atmosphere. Professor Boermans has personally organized several international congresses on the science and technology of motorless flight and has supervised the publication of an international journal dedicated to the technical aspects of soaring. His enthusiasm and motivating spirit has made OSTIV what it is today, an important and guiding institution for gliding, and for aviation in general. He is nominated for this medal in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the development of the art and science of gliding, and with acknowledgement of his retirement in 2015 as President of OSTIV.
At a time when the whole soaring world is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Lilienthal's achievements, how appropriate it would be to recognise the great advancements the sport has made over those 100 years and that glider flights of over 2000 kms are not only possible but have in fact been achieved. Carrying on the dedication earlier New Zealanders with their continual lee wave exploration, Raymond Lynskey has achieved the status of being recognised as the first to fly a distance of 2000 km, a flight he completed in late December 1990. A dedicated soaring pilot, who makes his time and knowledge always freely available, Lynskey started gliding in 1976 and since 1981 has won no less than six New Zealand Nationals. His prominence at world level is recognised by the fact that he was placed 5th in Italy in 1985, 7th in Australia in 1987, 5th in Austria in 1989. Aged 36, with over 4,500 gliding hours to his credit, this three diamond, 1000 km Diploma pilot is held in the highest esteem in New Zealand and with his latest achievements being justly recognised, New Zealand is proud of Lynskey and the accolades that have already been bestowed on him and New Zealand in recognition of his achievements
La médaille Lilienthal a été remise à Don Luis Vicente Juez Gomez pour ses prouesses comme pilote de planeur. Il a battu le record international d'altitude en planeur en 1945. Champion du Monde en biplace dans les championnats de 1952, classé deuxième en planeur monoplace dans les Championnats Mondiaux de 1956. Grand animateur du sport du vol à voile en Espagne
The OLC, the "On-Line Contest", is the largest decentralized gliding competition worldwide and has become the preferred on-line platform. In 11 years since it started in 1999, the OLC has experienced an extraordinary success story. In 2010 it attracted 13,200 participating pilots from all over the world and accumulated more than 102,400 registered flights with a stunning total of 28 million kilometres distance in motorless flight. 11 countries are currently using the OLC for their national decentralized gliding competitions, and the OLC is also engaged in a fruitful partnership with the IGC. The "secret" of the OLC is open access, simplicity in rules and transparency. The participation is entirely for free. The one person behind this outstanding success is Reiner Rose. He is the initiator, creator and manager of the On-Line Contest.
Reiner is assisted by a team of 10 enthusiastic glider pilots, who work on a purely voluntary basis. About Reiner : Reiner is 66 years old. He was a committed competition pilot. It was his original idea to combine the unique opportunities of the World Wide Web with flight path tracking by GNSS flight recorders Resume : With the OLC, Reiner Rose has rendered an outstanding service to the sport of gliding. The German Aeroclub recommends Reiner Rose as a most worthy recipient of the FAI Lilienthal award.
