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Adopting a proposal from the Turkish Aeronautical Association (THK), the 95th FAI General Conference 2002 held in October approved the creation of a new FAI Medal, the “Sabiha Gökçen Medal”, which will be awarded to women performing the most outstanding achievements in any air sport.

Who was Sabiha Gökçen ?
Sabiha was born in Bursa in 1913 and lost her parents during World War I. While visiting Bursa in 1922, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the President of Turkey, adopted the orphan girl and gave her the surname of “Gökçen”, which means “belonging to the sky”. Starting her glider training at the age of 22, Sabiha got her military pilot’s license in 1937, thus becoming the world’s first female military pilot. She trained for combat, flew Breguet 7 and Curtiss Hawk II aircraft and, in June 1938, she accomplished a six-day solo flight covering four Balkan Countries in a Vultee–V bomber. Mrs Gökçen retired from the aviation training school in 1954 but continued flying until 1975. During her career, she performed a total of 10’000 flight hours on about 15 different types of aircraft and became an inspiration to women pilots. Mrs Sabiha Gökçen died on 22 March 2001.

A FAI Medal Reserved for Women
By approving the creation of a new FAI General Award, the 95th FAI General Conference held in October in Dubrovnik not only recognised a life dedicated to aviation, but also gave FAI its first medal reserved for women performing the most outstanding achievements in any air sport, the Sabiha Gökçen Medal.

FAI Medals and Diplomas
The purpose of FAI Medals and Diplomas is to give public recognition to those who have made outstanding contributions to aeronautics and astronautics, especially in the field of sporting aviation. Including the new Sabiha Gökçen Medal, ten general FAI Medals and Diplomas may be awarded at the discretion of the FAI Vice Presidents. The oldest and most prestigious medals are :

The FAI Gold Air Medal : established in 1924, this medal is reserved for those who have contributed greatly to the development of aeronautics. Among other celebrities, Capt Charles “Chuck” Yeager (USA/1947), Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (GBR/1961) and Mrs Sabiha Gökçen (TUR/1990) received the FAI Gold Air Medal.

The De La Vaulx Medal : created in 1933, this Medal is awarded to all holders of recognised absolute World Records. J. Steven Fossett (USA/1995-1997-1998) is the fifth aviator to enter the exclusive group of people who received three De La Vaulx Medals.

The Louis Bleriot Medal : established in 1936, this Medal is awarded to holders of the highest records for speed, altitude and distance in a straight line by light aircraft. In 2000, the Medal was awarded to Hans Georg Schmid (SUI) for the Around the World flight he completed with his Long-Ez.

Apart from these General Awards, 28 other FAI Medals and Diplomas for Individual Disciplines are at the disposal of Air Sport or Technical Commissions to be awarded in recognition of particular sporting performances or achievements.

For further information, please refer to following links :
- FAI Awards
- Sabiha Gökçen
- Chuck Yeager
- Geoffrey de Havilland
- Louis Blériot
- Hans Georg Schmid

Lausanne, 7 November 2002