Different roads lead into aviation. In the old days it was usually decided by living near an airfield. Our steps were guided towards the airfield by looking up at the aeroplanes and gliders passing overhead.
How does the road into aviation begin?
Different roads lead into aviation. In the old days it was usually decided by living near an airfield. Our steps were guided towards the airfield by looking up at the aeroplanes and gliders passing overhead, as in Maria Wardasówna’s 1937 book Maryśka ze Śląska. Flight instructors often visited schools and, with a spark in their eyes, encouraged young people to start their flying adventure.
Today things are much simpler, but also much harder, because although the omnipresent internet „attacks” us with information, including about flight training, there is also such a variety of hobbies – or, to put it more elegantly, passions – that it is difficult to choose. So what makes people start an adventure beneath the clouds? Dreamers fulfil their dreams of flying, while pragmatists see it as their first step towards a profession that allows travel all over the world, gives prestige and a good standard of living, and at the same time infects them with a unique passion.
Let us then look at the various roads leading to one goal: looking at the world from above and being among the birds.
Why gliding training is a good start
The most natural and very effective way to reach a high level of training is to start with gliding. Sceptics will say it is a longer and harder road, but the examples of Captain Wrona and Captain Sullenberger, who both had a gliding background before their famous emergency landings in which they saved many passengers, show its value.
Obtaining an SPL gliding licence, especially if we add an English language proficiency endorsement, opens up the possibility of flying all over the world.
The next steps are guided by ambition and by opportunity. We can, as in Janusz Meissner’s book Trzy diamenty (Three Diamonds), work towards the gold gliding badge with three diamonds, we can focus on glider aerobatics or on recreational flying whenever we have a free moment. Since before the Second World War, the beautiful badge with a golden wreath set with diamonds has been the goal of most glider pilots, following in the footsteps of Tadeusz Góra, who became the second glider pilot in the world to earn it with a flight from the Bezmiechowa gliding site.
So how do you win this precious trophy? What do you have to do to find your name, and your documented achievement, on the official website of the international aviation organisation FAI?
Gliding badges – from „gulls” to diamonds
Historically it began with badges bearing one, two or three „gulls”, which marked the levels of gliding training in Polish gliding. They were introduced before the Second World War and used after it as well.
These markings corresponded to the three basic categories of the gliding badge:
Three gulls (Category C) – marked the highest level of basic or sporting training in that system. A pilot with three gulls could use rising air, that is thermals or ridge lift, to make long flights, often lasting many minutes or hours.
One gull (Category A) – marked the completion of basic gliding training. A pilot with one gull had made their first simple glides, could perform turns and land safely.
Two gulls (Category B) – marked a higher level of initiation. A pilot with two gulls had to perform steeper turns (figure eights) and ridge soaring flights, which confirmed the ability to stay airborne for longer.
The next badges, worn with pride by every glider pilot who met the requirements, are:
- Silver gliding badge (three gulls surrounded by a silver wreath). Requirements:
- a free duration flight of at least 5 hours;
- a height gain of at least 1,000 m, that is the difference between the release altitude and the maximum altitude in that flight;
- a declared cross-country flight of at least 50 km, measured from the point of release.
- Gold gliding badge (three gulls surrounded by a golden wreath). Requirements:
- a free duration flight of at least 5 hours;
- a height gain of at least 3,000 m, that is the difference between the release altitude and the maximum altitude in that flight;
- a declared cross-country flight of at least 300 km on an open course, where the landing point differs from the release point, with a maximum of three turning points.
- Gold gliding badge with three diamonds. Requirements:
- a height gain of at least 5,000 m, that is the difference between the release altitude and the maximum altitude in that flight;
- a declared cross-country flight of at least 300 km on a closed course, where the landing point is the same as the release point, with a maximum of two turning points;
- a declared cross-country flight of at least 500 km on an open course, where the landing point differs from the release point, with a maximum of three turning points.
- Badge for flights of 750 km and more – the badge and an honorary diploma are awarded for flights of at least 750 km. Flights are recorded in 250 km increments.
Gliding competitions and a pilot’s further development
Once we catch the cross-country flying bug, thoughts soon arrive of measuring ourselves not only against the weather and our own decisions, but also against other pilots. Cross-country rallies are organised in several regions of Poland and the Czech Republic, offering a taste of competing in gliding championships.
If we start training in our teens, the path opens up to competing in the Polish Junior Gliding Championships in classes A and B, and from there to the Polish Senior Championships. For other pilots there is the path of the National Gliding Competitions, also in classes A and B, with the leading competitors advancing to the Polish Gliding Championships. There is also the Ryszard Bitner Memorial, a distributed gliding competition from which one can also qualify for the national championships.
You can also take part in international rankings remotely by sending „logs”, that is flight recordings, to the organisers of such standings. The best competitors from senior events are called up to the Polish national squad, and from there to the team for European and World Championships. It is worth noting that juniors also qualify from their events for international junior competitions.
FAI, records and the most important names in gliding
The World Air Sports Federation (French: Fédération Aéronautique Internationale – FAI), founded in 1905, is the international organisation governing air sports, including gliding, ballooning and aerobatics, and cataloguing records. It is based in Lausanne. It brings together representatives from almost 100 countries, including the Aeroklub Polski, and organises events such as the World Air Games.
On its pages you will also find pilot rankings and the register of gold gliding badges with three diamonds, to which the FAI assigns world numbers. The FAI also awards the Lilienthal Medal to outstanding glider pilots.
The first recipient of that medal in history was a Pole:
- Tadeusz Góra – awarded in 1938 (confirmed in 1939) for a record flight in a PWS-101 glider from Bezmiechowa to Soleczniki near Vilnius (577.8 km).
Other Polish glider pilots awarded the Lilienthal Medal include:
- Pelagia Majewska (in 1960)
- Edward Makula
- Franciszek Kępka
- Janusz Centka
- Jerzy Makula
In 2025 our greatest glider pilot in history became the first Pole to be honoured with the FAI Gold Medal.
Here are Sebastian Kawa’s key achievements:
- World Championships – 18 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze medals
- European Championships – 9 gold medals
- World Air Games – 2 victories
Glider aerobatics as a separate path
At this point it is worth noting the name Jerzy Makula, one of the most decorated pilots in the history of glider aerobatics, who has won more than a dozen World Championship medals in total, both individually and with the team.
Here are his most important achievements:
- 7-time individual world champion in glider aerobatics (1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2011)
- 4-time individual world championship silver medallist
- 8-time team world champion
- 3-time individual European champion
- 14-time Polish champion
Why do we mention this name here? Because the former President of the Aeroklub Polski, even though he met the requirements for the diamond gliding badge back in 1972, pursued a different gliding career path – glider aerobatics.
The Cloud Elite Gliding School has two aerobatic gliders in its fleet, the Puchacz and the Perkoz, and plans to start training in this fascinating discipline of gliding in the coming years.
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text: Leszek Wlazło
editing: Łukasz Machowczyk