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The Lilienthal Medal of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale
Regarded as the highest soaring award in the world, it is given to reward a particularly remarkable sporting performance in gliding or eminent services over a long period of time on behalf of gliding, to a glider pilot who has either; (a) broken an international record during the past year or, (b) made a pioneer flight during the past year (the term "pioneer flight" is understood to mean a flight which has opened up new possibilities for gliding or has shown the way for fresh progress in the techniques of gliding) or, (c) who during a long period of time has given eminent services to gliding, in the opinion of the General Council of the FAI, and is still an active glider pilot.
The award was established by the FAI in 1938 in honor of Otto Lilienthal, pioneer glider experimenter and pilot. Lilienthal's gliding experiments in Germany during the years 1890-1896 demonstrated that human flight was achievable and furnished inspiration and encouragement to Wilbur and Orville Wright. Otto Lilienthal died in a gliding accident in 1896. The Lilienthal Medal is made of silver and is 7.5 cm in diameter. The obverse shows in bas-relief two birds in flight being captured by a man; the reverse bears a wreath and the words "Federation Aeronautique Internationale" surrounding a black space on which the year and name of the recipient is engraved. A Lilienthal Medal is struck each year and becomes the permanent property of the winner.
The award is now made by the General Council of the FAI only upon recommendation of the FAI Gliding Committee (IGC) which received written proposals from the national member clubs of FAI, signed either by the president or vice president of the submitting national aero club. From the proposals the IGC selects a candidate at one of its meetings to submit to the General Council. The award is made at the annual FAI General Conference.
The U.S.A.'s candidate is submitted by the National Aeronautic Association, the U.S.'s national member club in the FAI, on the basis of a recommendation from SSA, which is obtained by the SAI Directorate nominating and then voting on nominees.
Past Recipients of the Lilienthal Medal have been as follows:
| 1938 | Taduesz Gora (Poland) for a goal flight of 557 kilometers. |
| 1939-1947 | No awards. |
| 1948 | Lt. Per Axel Persson (Sweden) for an altitude flight of 8050 meters. |
| 1949 | John Robinson (U.S.A.) for his altitude flight to 10,210 meters absolute. |
| 1950 | William Ivans, Jr. (U.S.A.) for his altitude flight to 12,882 meters absolute, 9,174.5 meters gain. |
| 1951 | Me. Marcelle Chiosnet-Gohard (France) for her duration flight, 28 hrs., 41 min. |
| 1952 | Charles Atge (France) for a duration flight of 56 hrs., 15 min. |
| 1953 | V. Iltechenko (U.S.S.R.) for a straight-line distance flight, 829.8 kilometers. |
| 1954 | Philip Wills (Great Britain) for outstanding services to the sport of soaring. |
| 1955 | Dr. Joachim Kuettner (W. Gr.) for scientific work in soaring and pilot exploits. |
| 1956 | Dr. Paul B. MacCready, Jr. (U.S.A.) for his decisive victory in earning the title of World Soaring Champion in 1956. |
| 1957 | Don Luis Vicente Juez Gomez (Spain) for accomplishments in international soaring and devotion to the sport in Spain. |
| 1958 | Wolf Hirth (W. Gr.) for his great contributions to the development of soaring. |
| 1959 | Richard E. Schreder (U.S.A.) for establishing three world soaring speed records for single-place sailplanes in an aircraft he designed and built himself. |
| 1960 | Pelagia Majewska (Poland) outstanding soaring flights & numerous world records. |
| 1961 | Adolph Pirat Gehriger (Switz.) for outstanding services to the sport of soaring. |
| 1962 | Paul F. Bikle (U.S.A.) for setting two world altitude records on one flight, 46,267 feet absolute, 42,303 feet gain. |
| 1963 | Heinz Huth (W. Gr.) for a prodigious competition record, twice Std. Cl. Champ. |
| 1964 | Alvin H. Parker (U.S.A.) for his 7-31-64 world distance record flight of 647.17 miles (1041.52 kilometers), Odessa, Texas to Kimball, Nebraska. |
| 1965 | Edward Makula (Poland) for his outstanding competition record, including 1963 World Champion, instruction of pilots and authorship of technical papers. |
| 1966 | Mrs. Ann Burns (England) for her world records & being 1966 British Champion. |
| 1967 | Lennart Stahlfors (Sweden) for his exceptional talen in developing a gliding center, chief instructor for Sweden since 1954, & leading competition activity. |
| 1968 | Alejo Williamson (Chile) for his flight across the Andes, December 12, 1964. |
| 1969 | Eric Nessler (France) for his long service to soaring, and numerous records. |
| 1970 | Hans W. Grosse (W. Gr.) for making the first 1000-km flight in Europe. |
| 1971 | Karl H. Striedieck (U.S.A.) for his 569.36-mi. (916.30-km) O & R World Record. |
| 1972 | Jan Wroblewski (Poland), twice World Champion, 1965 Open and 1972 Standard Class. |
| 1973 | Ann Welch (England) for her outstanding competition record & services to the sport of soaring. |
| 1974 | August Hug (Switz.) for his numerous contributions to the development of soaring in Switzweland. |
| 1975 | Adela Dankowska (Poland) for her world records & winning the 1975 International Feminine Gliding Competition. |
| 1976 | Louis A. de Lange (Netherlands) for his numerous contributions and dedication to the sport of soaring. |
| 1977 | George Moffat, Jr. (U.S.A.) for a prodigious competition record, twice World Open Class Champion, and various other contributions. |
| 1978 | Helmut Reichmann (W. Gr.) for a prodigious competition record, three time World Champion (twice in Standard Class and once in 15-meter Class). |
| 1979 | No award. |
| 1980 | Hans Wolf (Austria) for pioneering alpine soaring and development of the CIVV SportingCode. |
| 1981 | George Lee (United Kingdom) for his prodigious competiton record of three consecutive World Open Class Championships. |
| 1982 | Hans Nietlispach (Switz.) Vice President of CIVV, for his devotion to the development of soaring and his participation in 10 world championships. |
| 1983 | No award. |
| 1984 | C. E. Wallington (Australia) for his contributions and efforts in officiating and organizing World Championships. |
| 1985 | Sholto Hamilton Georgeson (New Zealand) for his pioneer work and impressive flying achievements over a long period of years. |
| 1986 | Richard H. Johnson (U.S.A.) for his outstanding achievements and contributions to soaring; 11 time U.S. National Champion, 90 published articles and test reports. |
| 1987 | Juhani Horma (Finland) |
| 1988 | No Award |
| 1989 | No Award |
| 1990 | Fred Weinholtz (Germany) |
| 1991 | Raymond W. Linskey (New Zealand) |
| 1992 | Franciszek Kepka (Poland) |
| 1993 | Bernald S. Smith (USA) |
| 1994 | Terrence Delore (New Zealand) |
| 1995 | Tor Johannessen (Norway) |
