Nominations are open until May 31 for the Breitling Milestone Trophy and the Breitling Youngster Award, two honors created to recognize innovation and excellence in aeronautics, announced the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Swiss watchmaker Breitling, an AOPA strategic partner, and since 2012 FAI’s global sponsor, will host the winners of both awards at the 2015 Awards Ceremony of the FAI General Conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in September. The FAI is also known as the world governing body for air sports.
The Breitling Milestone Trophy is presented to an individual or group of individuals that has “achieved a significant milestone, technological step or invention in aeronautics or astronautics (first flight, new technology, etc.) during the previous year and that might contribute to future developments, especially in the practice of air sports,” the announcement said.
The Breitling Youngster Award honors a young person who, during the previous 12 months and before his or her twenty-sixth birthday, achieved an outstanding sporting performance—defined as “a performance which is considered by the nominating authority as beyond the normal level of performance compared to what can usually be done,” or has “excelled in a certain area of his sport and is considered as a reference.” The award may also go to a young person who “significantly contributed to the development and promotion of aeronautics or astronautics.”
Since its creation, the Breitling Milestone Trophy has been awarded to Copenhagen Suborbitals, which designed, built, and launched the world’s first amateur-built full-size rocket with full computer control and steering, FAI said.
The Breitling Youngster Award has honored Robert Rizk, 14, for winning the title of Advanced National Champion in Glider Aerobatics; and Ryan Campbell, who completed a round-the-world solo flight at age 19.
Additional details about the FAI-Breitling Awards, the nomination process, and nominee eligibility, can be found on the FAI’s website.
