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 and his wife, André Michelin, Albert de Dion, Alberto Santos-Dumont, Henri Deutsch de la Meurthe, and Henry de La Vaulx. 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 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:
2025 - Tom Cruise 2020 - La Patrouille de France 2019 - Buzz Aldrin and Jean Pinet. 2018 - Thomas Pesquet 2017 - Bertrand Piccard (second award) and André Borschberg 2015 - Aude Lemordant, Alexandre Orlowski, François Rallet, Damien Vadon 2012 - The Big Frog project team 2010 - The six members of the EC 725 Caracal helicopter team in Afghanistan 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 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 - , Chuck Yeager 1986 - Patrick Baudry 1981 - John Young, Robert Crippen 1980 - Valérie André 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, , Henry Potez 1963 - Jacqueline Auriol 1958 - Gabriel Voisin 1946 - 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 1918 - Pier PiccioL'Illustrazione della Guerra e la Stampa Sportiva, n.47, 24.11.1918 1917 - Warrant Officer Lucien Jailler, 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 Deullin, Captains Alfred Heurtaux and Georges Guynemer, Second Lieutenant Paul Tarascon, and Captain André Wateau 1914 - Elmer A. Sperry 1913 - 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, 1900 - Henry de La Vaulx
See also 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
References
External links Aéro-Club de France website