The Aéro-Club de France () was founded as the Aéro-Club on 20 October 1898 as a society 'to encourage aerial locomotion' by

Ernest Archdeacon Ernest Archdeacon (23 March 1863 – 3 January 1950) was a French lawyer and aviation pioneer before the First World War. He made his first balloon flight at the age of 20. He commissioned a copy of the 1902 Wright No. 3 glider but ha ...

, Léon Serpollet, Henri de la Valette, Jules Verne and his wife,

André Michelin André Jules Michelin (16 January 1853 – 4 April 1931) was a French industrialist who, with his brother Édouard (1859–1940), founded the Michelin Tyre Company (''Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin'') in 1888 in the French ...

Albert de Dion Marquis Jules Félix Philippe Albert de Dion de Wandonne (9 March 185619 August 1946) was a French pioneer of the automobile industry. He invented a steam-powered car and used it to win the world's first auto race, but his vehicle was adjud ...

Alberto Santos-Dumont Alberto Santos-Dumont ( Palmira, 20 July 1873 — Guarujá, 23 July 1932) was a Brazilian aeronaut, sportsman, inventor, and one of the few people to have contributed significantly to the early development of both lighter-than-air and heavie ...

Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe (; 25 September 1846 – 24 November 1919), born Salomon Henry Deutsch, was a successful French petroleum businessman (known as the "Oil King of Europe"Howard, Fred, ''Wilbur & Orville: A Biography'', Dover Publicati ...

, and

Henry de La Vaulx Henry de La Vaulx (1870–1930), was a 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 nativ ...

. 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 An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

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 r ...

'' 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.

Medal

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: * 2006 - The flight test team of the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...

and the

Dassault Falcon 7X The Dassault Falcon 7X is a large-cabin, range business jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation, the second largest of its Dassault Falcon line. Launched at 2001 Paris Air Show, its first flight was on 5 May 2005 and it entered service on 15 Jun ...

* 2005 - Pierre Guyoti * 2004 - At the retirement of Concorde, the heads of

EADS Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global ai ...

and

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

* 2003 -

Steve Fossett James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 – September 3, 2007) was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraf ...

* 2002 - The astronauts of the Andromeda mission * 2000 -

Jean-Pierre Haigneré Jean-Pierre Haigneré (born 19 May 1948) is a French Air Force officer and a former CNES spationaut. Jean-Pierre Haigneré was born in Paris, France, and joined the French Air Force, where he trained as a test pilot. He flew on two missions ...

ESA , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...

astronaut * 1998 - Bertrand Piccard, of the

Breitling Orbiter 3 ''Breitling Orbiter'' was the name of three different Rozière balloons made by the Bristol based balloon manufacturer Cameron Balloons to circumnavigate the globe, named after the Swiss watchmakers Breitling. The third was successful in March ...

balloon * 1997 -

Claudie Haigneré Claudie (André-Deshays) Haigneré (born 13 May 1957) is a French doctor, politician and former astronaut with the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (1985–1999) and the European Space Agency (1999–2002). Background and training Born in ...

, Shannon Lucid,

Yelena Kondakova Yelena Vladimirovna Kondakova (russian: link=no, Елена Владимировна Кондакóва; born March 30, 1957) is the third Soviet or Russian female cosmonaut to travel to space and the first woman to make a long-duration spacefli ...

* 1996 - Jules Roy, author * 1995 -

Serge Dassault Serge Dassault (; born Serge Paul André Bloch; 4 April 1925 – 28 May 2018) was a French engineer, businessman and politician. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of Dassault Group, and a conservative politician. According to ' ...

* 1994 - Henri Pescarolo * 1988 - Jean Salis,

Chuck Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager ( , February 13, 1923December 7, 2020) was a United States Air Force officer, flying ace, and record-setting test pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the ...

* 1986 - Patrick Baudry * 1981 -

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Coll ...

Robert Crippen Robert Laurel Crippen (born September 11, 1937) is an American retired naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and retired astronaut. He traveled into space four times: as Pilot of STS-1 in April 1981, the first Space Shuttl ...

* 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 ...

, Jack Swigert, Fred Haise * 1969 - Neil Armstrong,

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 Ap ...

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...

* 1967 -

Adrienne Bolland Adrienne Bolland, born Boland, (25 November 1895 – 18 March 1975) was a French test pilot. She was the first woman to fly over the Andes between Chile and Argentina. She was later described as "France's most accomplished female aviator", set ...

, Élisabeth Boselli, Marcel Dassault,

Didier Daurat Didier Daurat (2 January 1891, Montreuil-sous-Bois – 2 December 1969, Toulouse) was a pioneer of French aviation. He was a fighter pilot during World War I, distinguishing himself by spotting the Paris Gun which was pounding Paris. After ...

, Jean Lasserre, Georges Libert,

Henry Potez Henry Potez (Méaulte, 30 September 1891 – Paris, 9 November 1981) was a French aircraft industrialist. He studied in the French Aeronautics School '' Supaéro''. With Marcel Dassault, he was the inventor of the Potez-Bloch propeller which, aft ...

* 1963 -

Jacqueline Auriol Jacqueline Auriol (5 November 1917, Challans, Vendée – 11 February 2000) was a French aviator who set several world speed records. Biography Born in Challans, Vendée, the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder, Edmond Pierre Douet, she graduate ...

* 1958 -

Gabriel Voisin Gabriel Voisin (5 February 1880 – 25 December 1973) was a French aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, which was made ...

* 1938 -

Henri Guillaumet Henri Guillaumet (29 May 1902 – 27 November 1940) was a French aviator. Guillaumet was born in Bouy, Marne. He was a pioneer of French aviation in the Andes, the South Atlantic and the North Atlantic. He contributed to the opening up o ...

, Paul Tissandier * 1937 -

Maryse Bastié Maryse Bastié (27 February 1898 – 6 July 1952) was a French aviator who set several international records for female aviators during the 1930s. Early life She was born Marie-Louise Bombec in Limoges, Haute-Vienne; Bastié's father died wh ...

* 1931 - Maurice Noguès * 1930 -

Jean Mermoz Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

, Maurice Bellonte * 1928 -

Joseph Le Brix Joseph Le Brix (22 February 1899 - 12 September 1931) was a French aviator and a ''capitaine de corvette'' (lieutenant commander) in the French Navy. He is best known for an around-the-world flight he made as copilot and navigator in 1927-1928 wh ...

* 1927 -

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

* 1923 - Louis Bréguet,

Pierre-Georges Latécoère Pierre-Georges Latécoère (; 1883–1943) was a pioneer of aeronautics. Born in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, he studied in the École Centrale Paris and, during the First World War, started a business in aeronautics. He directed plants that made p ...

, Dieudonné Costes * 1922 -

Clément Ader Clément Ader (2 April 1841 – 3 May 1925) was a French inventor and engineer who was born near Toulouse in Muret, Haute-Garonne, and died in Toulouse. He is remembered primarily for his pioneering work in aviation. In 1870 he was also one of ...

* 1920 -

Joseph Sadi-Lecointe Joseph Sadi-Lecointe (1891 – 1944) was a French aviator, best known for breaking a number of speed and altitude records in the 1920s. Biography Sadi-Lecointe was born on 11 July 1891 at Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle. He learned to fly at the Z ...

* 1917 - Warrant Officer Lucien Jailles, Sergeant Walter Lovell, Warrant Officer Raoul Lufbery, Archibald Johnson, Willis Haviland, Captain

Georges Thenault Lieutenant Colonel Georges Thenault () (15 December 1887 – 19 December 1948) was the commander of the Lafayette Escadrille – the famed branch of the French air force in World War I composed of American volunteer pilots. The Lafayette Escadri ...

, Warrant Officer Harold Willis, Second Lieutenant

Henri Languedoc ''Sous lieutenant'' Henri François Languedoc was a French World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.The Aerodrome websitRetrieved on 26 March 2010./ref> Biography See also Aerial victory standards of World War I Henri François ...

, Lieutenant J.A. Tourtay, Second Lieutenant Hector Varlin, Second Lieutenant William Thaw, Lieutenant Albert Dullin, Captains

Alfred Heurtaux Alfred Marie-Joseph Heurtaux (20 May 1893 – 30 December 1985) was a French World War I fighter ace credited with 21 victories. Later in his life, he joined the French Resistance during World War II, and survived imprisonment in Buchenwald deat ...

and Georges Guynemer, Second Lieutenant Paul Tarascon, and Captain André Wateau * 1912 - Roland Garros * 1911 -

Jules Védrines Jules Charles Toussaint Védrines (29 December 1881 – 21 April 1919) was an early French aviator, notable for being the first pilot to fly at more than 100 mph and for winning the Gordon Bennett Trophy race in 1912. Biography Jules Védrin ...

* 1910 - Géo Chavez * 1909 -

Louis Blériot Louis Charles Joseph Blériot ( , also , ; 1 July 1872 – 1 August 1936) was a French aviator, inventor, and engineer. He developed the first practical headlamp for cars and established a profitable business manufacturing them, using much of th ...

* 1908 - Henri Farman, Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright * 1901 -

, 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 Air Cadet organisations 1898 establishments in France