List of glider pilots
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
This list of notable glider pilots contains the names of those who have achieved fame in gliding and in other fields:
Notable in gliding
The "Ehrenhalle" at the Wasserkuppe, featuring a larger than life statue of Otto Lilienthal lying on an empty tomb, a tribute to all who have died in gliding.
- Ruth Alexander - female altitude record breaker, first woman glider instructor in the U.S.
- Bill Bedford test pilot - first to fly Hawker P.1127 and Harrier.
- Luca Bertossio, 2012 World Advanced Category glider aerobatic champion FAI
- Paul Bikle - NASA director, glider altitude record setter and Soaring Hall of Fame
- William Hawley Bowlus, first American to break Wright brothers 1911 gliding record, Designer of first military prototype glider the XCG-16A, Superintendent of construction of the Spirit of St. Louis and U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame member
File:1911 Wright Glider.jpg
October 24, 1911: Orville Wright soared above Kill Devil Hill for 9 minutes 45 seconds, breaking their previous record of 1 minute 12 seconds set in January 1903 with the 1902 glider.
- Anne Burns - British champion, holder of multiple records, aerospace engineer
- Janusz Centka - multiple world champion,[1]
- Anthony Deane-Drummond - major-general & British national champion
- Heini Dittmar, test pilot (first person over 1000 km/h) and gliding record breaker
- Wilhelm Düerkop, glider aerobatic champion
- Richard C. du Pont - director of military glider program
- Einar Enevoldson - test pilot and gliding record breaker
- Markus Feyerabend, glider aerobatics champion
- Steve Fossett - entrepreneur and gliding record breaker[2]
- Nicholas Goodhart world champion, record breaker and inventor of the Mirror sight deck landing system
- Tadeusz Góra, gliding record breaker, first winner of the Lilienthal Gliding Medal
- Hans-Werner Grosse - 46 world records[3]
- Doris Grove - female world record breaker, first woman to fly 1000 km, and U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame member [4]
- Julius Hatry, glider designer
- Barron Hilton - hotel magnate and founder of the Barron Hilton Cup for gliding[5]
- Wolf Hirth, German gliding pioneer and sailplane designer
- Klaus Holighaus, glider designer and European Champion
- Hans Jacobs, glider designer
- Dick Johnson - 11-time U.S. National Champion, glider distance record setter and Soaring Hall of Fame
- Sebastian Kawa, most wins (5+3) in World Gliding Championships
- Joachim Kuettner, atmospheric scientist and gliding record breaker
- Thomas Knauff - author, instructor, world record breaker, and U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame member [6]
- Robert Kronfeld- Austrian gliding champion and sailplane designer
- Jean-Marie Le Bris - pioneer of French aviation
- George Lee - three times world champion, ex-RAF
- Otto Lilienthal - German machine engineer, first controlled gliding flights to 250 m
- Paul MacCready - aviation inventor, devised the MacCready Theory on speed to fly[7]
- Edward Makula - world champion, 7 world records
- Jerzy Makula - six times world glider aerobatic champion[8][9]
- Peter Masak - U.S. Soaring Team member, developed the first practical winglets for sailplanes
- Willy Messerschmitt, aircraft designer, including gliders
- George Moffat - author, two-time world champion, and U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame member[10]
- John J. Montgomery - U.S. physicist, first controlled glider flight in U.S., and U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame member
- Derek Piggott - author, flight instructor and movie stunt pilot[11]
- Helmut Reichmann - German professor, author and three-time gliding world champion
- Hanna Reitsch - test pilot and breaker of several gliding records[12]
- Klaus Ohlmann - 36 world records,[13] member of the Mountain Wave Project[14]
- Joan Meakin Price, first woman to glide over the English Channel (1934).
- Peter Riedel, gliding champion
- Ingo Renner - four times world champion,[15] two world records,[16] flight instructor
- Cliff Robertson - actor and soaring activist[17]
- Martin Schempp, glider designer and pilot
- Richard Schreder naval aviator and developer of the HP/RS-series kit sailplanes marketed from 1962 until about 1982.
- Peter Scott - naturalist (founder of World Wildlife Fund and ex-chairman of British Gliding Association)[18]
- Wally Scott - world record breaker, U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame member, and multi-time recipient of the Lewin B. Barringer Memorial Trophy[19][20]
- Geoffrey H. Stephenson - first person to cross the English Channel in a glider
- Karl Striedieck - world record breaker, and U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame member [21]
- Dennis Tito - gliding speed record holder, aerospace engineer and investment manager[22]
- Oskar Ursinus, gliding pioneer and designer
- Gerhard Waibel, glider pilot and designer
- Ann Welch, instructor and administrator
- Philip Wills, world champion and administrator
- Wright Brothers - early glider pioneers, invented 3-axis flight control on 1902 glider, set world glider duration record in 1911 (also widely credited with inventing the airplane)
- Jan Wróblewski - World Champion in 1965 and 1972; FAI Lilienthal Medal 1972
Other notable people known to have flown gliders
- Sir John Allison - RAF Officer, former Commander in Chief Strike Command
- James Allison - F1 Engineer, Technical Director Scuderia Ferrari
- Neil Armstrong - first man on the moon, astronaut[23][24]
- Richard Bach - author
- Paul Bulcke - Nestlé CEO (2007–present)[25]
- Barbara Cartland - author[26]
- Kalpana Chawla - astronaut
- John Denver - singer/songwriter
- Hugh Downs - television news anchor
- Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank - British architect[27]
- Matthew Fox - actor[28]
- Christopher Foyle - Owner of Foyles Bookshop[29]
- Andy Green - World Land Speed Record holder[30]
- Erich Hartmann - most successful fighter pilot of all times (352 confirmed victories)[31]
- Will Hay - British comic actor[32]
- Marsha Ivins - astronaut
- Sir David Jason - actor[33]
- Amy Johnson - Pioneer in Aviation - member at Yorkshire Gliding Club from 1937[34]
- John Kerry - U.S. senator and former presidential candidate[35]
- Charles Lindbergh - winner of the Orteig Prize as pilot on first solo nonstop Atlantic crossing flight[36]
- William S. McArthur - astronaut
- Richie McCaw - All Blacks captain [37]
- Steve McQueen - actor, star of The Thomas Crown Affair (1968 film)[38]
- Mike Melvill - Spaceship One test pilot[39]
- Story Musgrave - astronaut on Hubble telescope repair mission
- Sir Paul Nurse - President of the Royal Society
- Robert Pearson - airline pilot and glider pilot who glided a Boeing 767 to safety[40]
- Christopher Reeve - actor[41]
- Michel Rocard - French former prime minister[42]
- Martin Shaw - actor[43]
- Alan Shepard - astronaut on first Project Mercury space flight
- Chesley Sullenberger - captain of US Airways Flight 1549 which ditched in the Hudson River
- Peter Twiss - test pilot and former holder of the World Air Speed Record
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Mark McKay Laugh Magazine Issue 22 2001
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
