The Aéro-Club de France () is one of the oldest French aviators' associations still active. It was founded as the Aéro-Club on 20 October 1898 as a society 'to encourage aerial locomotion' by Ernest Archdeacon, Léon Serpollet, Henri de la Valette,

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

and his wife, André Michelin, Albert de Dion, Alberto Santos-Dumont, Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe, and

Henry de La Vaulx Henry de La Vaulx (1870–1930) was a French balloonist, author, and cofounder of major French and international aeronautical associations. Biography He was born in Bierville, France on April 2, 1870. From March 1896 to May 1897 he stayed with ...

. On 20 April 1909, its name was changed to ''Aéro-Club de France''. The Aéro-Club de France originally set many of the regulations that controlled aviation in France. From its formation it also set the rules that have marked some of the 'firsts' in aviation, such as the first closed-circuit flight of over 1 km and the first helicopter flight, and has organised competitions including: * the Prix Deutsch de la Meurthe, a challenge for dirigibles from 1901 * the Gordon Bennett Cup for fixed-wing aircraft in 1909 The club published the journal ''

L'Aérophile ''L’Aérophile'' ("The Aerophile") was a French aviation magazine published from 1893 to 1947. It has been described as "the leading aeronautical journal of the world" around 1910. History and contents ''L’Aérophile'' was founded and ru ...

'' from 1898 to 1947, and since 1997 publishes the magazine ''Aérofrance''. The Aéro-Club de France was a founding member of the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI) in 1905, a joint effort with other national associations. After 1945, some of the Aéro-Club's regulatory roles were taken by other bodies. It now focusses on the promotion of aviation and certification. File:Brevet de pilote aéronaute 1904.jpg, Balloon pilot's licence issued by the Aéro-Club de France to Mr. Tissandier in 1904. File:Btv1b84386347-p005.jpg, Aero Club festivities, air and automobile rally, June 16, 1904. File:Btv1b84386347-p006.jpg File:Btv1b84386347-p007.jpg File:Btv1b84386347-p008.jpg File:Btv1b84386347-p009.jpg File:Carte postale - Saint-Cloud - Parc de l'aéroclub de France à St-Cloud - Un départ de ballons - 9FI-SCL 903.jpg, St. Cloud, 1910

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The Club grants the Great Medal of the Aéro-Club de France to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of aviation. The winners have been: * 2025 - Tom Cruise * 2006 - The flight test team of the Airbus A380 and the Dassault Falcon 7X * 2005 - Pierre Guyoti * 2004 - At the retirement of Concorde, the heads of EADS, British Aerospace, Air France and

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

* 2003 - Steve Fossett * 2002 - The astronauts of the Andromeda mission * 2000 - Jean-Pierre Haigneré, ESA astronaut * 1998 - Bertrand Piccard, of the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon * 1997 - Claudie Haigneré, Shannon Lucid, Yelena Kondakova * 1996 - Jules Roy, author * 1995 - Serge Dassault * 1994 - Henri Pescarolo * 1988 - Jean Salis, Chuck Yeager * 1986 - Patrick Baudry * 1981 - John Young, Robert Crippen * 1970 -

Jim Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. ( ; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the fi ...

Jack Swigert John Leonard Swigert Jr. (August 30, 1931 – December 27, 1982) was an American NASA astronaut, test pilot, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force pilot, and politician. In April 1970, as command module pilot of A ...

Fred Haise Fred Wallace Haise Jr. ( ; born November 14, 1933) is an American former NASA astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot with the United States Marine Corps Aviation, U.S. Marine Corps and United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force, and a test pilot. He ...

* 1969 - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins * 1967 - Adrienne Bolland, Élisabeth Boselli, Marcel Dassault, Didier Daurat, Jean Lasserre, Georges Libert, Henry Potez * 1963 - Jacqueline Auriol * 1958 - Gabriel Voisin * 1938 - Henri Guillaumet, Paul Tissandier * 1937 - Maryse Bastié * 1931 - Maurice Noguès * 1930 - Jean Mermoz, Maurice Bellonte * 1928 - Joseph Le Brix * 1927 - Charles Lindbergh * 1923 - Louis Bréguet, Pierre-Georges Latécoère, Dieudonné Costes * 1922 - Clément Ader * 1920 - Joseph Sadi-Lecointe * 1917 - Warrant Officer Lucien Jailles, Sergeant Walter Lovell, Warrant Officer Raoul Lufbery, Archibald Johnson, Willis Haviland, Captain Georges Thenault, Warrant Officer Harold Willis, Second Lieutenant Henri Languedoc, Lieutenant J.A. Tourtay, Second Lieutenant Hector Varlin, Second Lieutenant William Thaw, Lieutenant Albert Dullin, Captains Alfred Heurtaux and Georges Guynemer, Second Lieutenant Paul Tarascon, and Captain André Wateau * 1912 - Roland Garros * 1911 - Jules Védrines * 1910 - Géo Chavez * 1909 - Louis Blériot * 1908 - Henri Farman, Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright * 1901 - Alberto Santos-Dumont, Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe, Robert Lebaudy * 1900 -

References

External links

Aéro-Club de France website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aero-Club De France Flying clubs Clubs and societies in France Organizations established in 1898 Organizations based in Paris Air Cadet organisations 1898 establishments in France Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

Medal

See also

References

External links