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Aviation History
1981
1981 - 3732.PDF
FAI and Royal Aero Club awards for 1981 GLIDING, ballooning, parachuting, and long-distance solo flying account for the top honours in this year's FAI and Royal Aero Club annual awards. The Prince of Wales, in his capacity as president of the Royal Aero Club (FAI representative body for the UK), presented them in London last week. Premier FAI award, the Gold Air Medal, went to Flight contributor Ann Welch "in recognition of a dis tinguished career in sporting aviation over 47 years and particularly for devotion to training and encourage ment of young pilots". She is only the third woman to receive the award, after Jean Batten (1937) and Jacqueline Cochrane (1953). She learned to fly in 1934, was a gliding instructor for 40 years, started the Surrey Gliding Club in 1938 and later promoted its post-war move to Lasham, which is now one of the world's largest gliding centres. Dur ing ATA service in the war she de livered many types of single- and twin- engined aircraft. Ann Welch has been involved in a working capacity at all 17 world gliding championships, man aging the British team at eight, serv ing on the FAI's international jury at five, and directing the 1965 world event at South Cerney, Glos. She holds two gliding diamond badges and still holds the British national women's goal record for a 528km flight in 1961 in Poland. She was awarded the MBE in 1953 and OBE in 1968. Following many years as BGA vice-chairman and on its instructors and executive committees, she is now President of the British Hang Gliding Association, and British Microlight Aircraft Association, and heads the FAI working group on microlights. The Royal Aero Club's Britannia Trophy went to Julian Nott for his world altitude record of 55,134ft in a hot-air balloon, beating his earlier 1974 record by 22 per cent. Judith Chisholm received the Gold Medal for her solo round-the-world flight last year in a Cessna Centurion. She achieved the fastest-ever solo round-the-world flight by a woman (360hr 22min), fastest solo flight England-Australia (83hr), and a total of 29 new world records. Richard Nesbitt-Dufort received a Silver Medal in recognition of his par ticipation in Precision Flying Cham pionships as a paraplegic. He is be lieved to be the only licenced para plegic pilot in the UK. Silver Medals also went to Michael Jones for his in ternational efforts for Formula One Air Racing, and to Geoffrey Green for setting a world distance hot-air balloon-class record of 674km. Bronze Medals went to glider pilot David Benton for setting a new UK altitude of 11,031m from Portmoak, Scotland; to Albert Etheridge, for many years' service in aircraft restoration, particularly at the Shuttle- worth Collection; and to John Jones, Chairman of the Society of Model Aeronautical Engineers, for his long standing efforts on behalf of aero- modellers. The Prince of Wales Trophy went to the Joint Services Canopy Relative Work Team, whose successes culmi nated in a Gold Medal at the 1980 World Championships. Jock Cameron of British Airways Helicopters re ceived the Breguet Trophy for ser vices and achievement in the commer cial helicopter field. Josephine O'Donnell is the 1981 King's Cup winner (and only the second woman to have won it), and Jeremy Smith is British Air Racing Champion. FAI Tissandier Diplomas were awarded to John Blake, international judge at major aerobatic competitions and well-known for airshow commen taries; Arthur Doughty, chairman of the BGA Safety Panel; and Scotty Milne, many times national parachute champion and captain of the British team at the World Championships. The Vintage Glider Club received the FAI's Honorary Group Diploma. The British Women Pilots Associa tion awarded its Jean Lennox Bird Trophy to Caroline Frost of British Air Ferries for outstanding pilot pro- » gress. She achieved a four-engined command in her twenties. Judith Chisholm and Jan Schonburg were jointly awarded the Brabazon Cup, the latter in recognition of her solo England-Australia flight in a Cessna. 1 Briefings... Karl Striedieck has been chosen to represent the USA in the 1982 Argen tine International Soaring Contest. Many times US national champion, he was in the US team at this year's world contest, and currently holds the world out-and-return distance record of 1,016 miles in an ASW 17. Argentina will be the host country for the next world championships, to be held in 1983. Arrow Aviation Suppliers is a new company based at Coventry Airport, and specialises in general aviation spares. A full range is held for Air borne, Cleveland, Whelen, GE, Gill, and Rebat. The company is based at Hangar Seven, Coventry Airport, Warwicks, telephone 0203 302468. Aerospatiale's Socata division has re ceived 26 Australian orders for the TB10/TB20 series since the appoint ment as distributor of H. C. Sleigh Aviation at Melbourne earlier this year. 1620 FLIGHT International, 28 November 198) "Flight" diaries THERE is still time to buy your 1982 Flight Pilot's Diary, revised and updated with more airfield data, radio frequencies, aviation law, meteorology refresher notes and many other useful features. The diary can be obtained from major booksellers or from the Trade Counter, IPC Business still available Press, 5 Sumner Street, London SE1, price £3-50. Or write direct to the publishers, IPC Business Press (S&D), Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, enclosing £3-75 for the UK, or $9 for US sea mail and $13 for US air mail. The Canary Hawk is an Americanised version of the Andreasson BA-4 aerobatic biplane built by high school teacher Larry Karp. He intends to market plans for both the BA-4 and the two-seat BA-I I development. Details are available from the £M at Box 229, Hales Corners, Wisconsin S3I30 4 \ k i I * 1
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