Aéro-Club de France facts for kids
The Aéro-Club de France is one of the oldest groups in France for people who love flying. It started way back on October 20, 1898. It was first called the Aéro-Club. Famous people like Jules Verne, who wrote adventure stories, and André Michelin, who made tires, helped create it. Their goal was to encourage "aerial locomotion," which means making things fly! On April 20, 1909, its name changed to Aéro-Club de France.
The Aéro-Club de France played a big role in the early days of aviation. It helped set many of the first rules for flying in France. The club also created challenges and competitions to push aviation forward.
- It organized the Prix Deutsch de la Meurthe, a race for dirigibles (blimps) starting in 1901.
- It also held the Gordon Bennett Cup for airplanes in 1909.
The club published a magazine called L'Aérophile from 1898 to 1947. Since 1997, they have published Aérofrance magazine. In 1905, the Aéro-Club de France helped start the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI). This group works with other flying clubs around the world.
After 1945, other organizations took over some of the Aéro-Club's rule-making jobs. Today, the club focuses on promoting aviation and giving out flying certifications.
Great Medal of Aviation
The Aéro-Club de France gives out a special award called the Great Medal. This medal honors people who have done amazing things to help aviation grow. Here are some of the people and teams who have received this important medal:
- 2025 - Tom Cruise
- 2006 - The flight test teams for the Airbus A380 and the Dassault Falcon 7X
- 2005 - Pierre Guyoti
- 2004 - Leaders from EADS, British Aerospace, Air France, and British Airways when the Concorde airplane retired
- 2003 - Steve Fossett
- 2002 - The astronauts from the Andromeda mission
- 2000 - Jean-Pierre Haigneré, an ESA astronaut
- 1998 - Bertrand Piccard, for the Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon flight
- 1997 - Claudie Haigneré, Shannon Lucid, Yelena Kondakova
- 1996 - Jules Roy, an author
- 1995 - Serge Dassault
- 1994 - Henri Pescarolo
- 1988 - Jean Salis, Chuck Yeager
- 1986 - Patrick Baudry
- 1981 - John Young, Robert Crippen
- 1970 - Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise
- 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 - Many brave pilots from World War I, including Walter Lovell, Raoul Lufbery, Willis Haviland, Georges Thenault, Harold Willis, William Thaw, Alfred Heurtaux, Georges Guynemer, and Paul Tarascon
- 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 - Henry de La Vaulx
Images for kids
-
Balloon pilot's licence issued by the Aéro-Club de France to Mr. Tissandier in 1904.
-
Aero Club festivities, air and automobile rally, June 16, 1904.
-
-
-
-
-
St. Cloud, 1910
See also
In Spanish: Aéro-Club de France para niños
- List of pilots awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Aéro-Club de France in 1909
- List of pilots awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Aéro-Club de France in 1911
- Fédération française de parachutisme
