News release: 4 Feb 2005, RAeC awards Ceremony
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At a reception in London in the National Army Museum Richard Meredith-Hardy was presented last night with the Britannia Trophy by the Royal Aero Club's president, HRH The Duke of York KCVO ADC.
The Britannia Trophy is the Royal Aero Club's most prestigous award For the British Aviator or Aviators accomplishing the most meritorious performance in Aviation during the previous year. The citation reads: In May 2004 Richard Meredith-Hardy flew over Mount Everest in a weight-shift microlight. The aircraft was a British-made Pegasus Quantum with a Turbocharged Rotax 914 engine. It had a standard simple open-frame structure and a top speed of only 65 mph. The only extra feature was an oxygen system for the pilot. For the initial part of the ascent he was towing a hang-glider, but a cable-break prevented it accompanying him on the critical phase over the summit. The flight reached an altitude of almost 30,000 feet. He showed considerable skill in coping with the extreme weather and courage in flying over the inhospitable terrain. This is a great honour as I join a very select list of aviators who have won this trophy twice since it was inaugurated in 1913; I was a member of the British Microlight team which won it in 1990 following our victory at the World Championships. To add to the specacle I was asked to park my microlight outside the museum. Unfortunately even with such VIP patronage it wasn't possible to fly it there as there was nowhere to land so I dragged it there on a trailer. There were a number of people present who received other awards for extraordinary flights, notably Simon Oliphant-Hope who won the Breuget Trophy for establishing a new record of 17 days for round-the-World flight in a Helicopter and David Hempleman-Adams who received a FAI Ballooning Diploma for his flight across the Atlantic in a balloon with an open wicker basket in 2003. In his speech the Duke collectively referred to us all as 'completely mad' but hoped we would not stop doing such things in the future. Unfortunately the Britannia Trophy lives in a vault somewhere so I only got to hold it for the briefest of moments though the RAeC have given me a certificate instead. |
RMH 
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