One year ago, on September 2nd 2018, the Perlan 2 soared into the record books by reaching 76,000 feet (23km), the highest altitude ever reached by a glider.
The flight took place in El Calafate, Patagonia in Argentina, and was the third time in just a few days that the glider flew above the altitude of its own previous world record, set in 2017. The unique aircraft was flown by US pilots Jim Payne and Tim Gardner.
In 2019 the IGC, the world's highest authority in the Gliding Sports in the world’s highest aviation authority FAI - Fédération Aéronautique Internationale - will celebrate two Awards, the jubilee of the first Lilienthal Medal for Gliding 1938 given in January 1939 at Paris to Tadeusz Gora (Poland) and the 1995 World Soaring Cup (WSC) a challenge cup initially given by New Zealand competition gliding enthusiasts. In 2018 the IGC Plenary approved a proposal that the WSC would be given annually to the IGC Champion Pilot of the Year. In 2018 the
