Hollywood comes to Lake Wolfgang

For its 5th anniversary, leading figures from the worlds of aviation and aerospace, business and society gathered at the event resort on Lake Wolfgang to celebrate the presentation of the “Academy Awards of Aviation” at scalaria Living Legends of Aviation Europe. In this anniversary year, six award recipients were honoured with prestigious awards, while five more distinguished personalities were inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Hollywood star Morgan Freeman returned to Lake Wolfgang for the second time since 2022 and, together with actress Annabelle Mandeng, presented the awards during the evening gala.

The spectacular air show over Lake Wolfgang featured, among others, The Flying Bulls, Red Bull Blanix, world record holder Dario Costa, the Red Bull Skydive Team, the Austrian Armed Forces and the Austrian Aviation Police, creating unforgettable images above the lake.

Earlier in the day, international experts from industry and technology gathered at the Science Lounge to discuss how new mobility concepts, innovative aircraft and European space technologies could shape the future of flight.

The World Meets at Lake Wolfgang

The Living Legends of Aviation Awards have established themselves in Europe as one of the leading meeting points for the international aviation and aerospace community. Despite late-summer weather that was still changeable at first, the Red Carpet at scalaria Beach filled up on Saturday afternoon.

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At the centre of attention was Hollywood star and host Morgan Freeman, who attended the event together with his partner, Dr. Linda Keena. Among the guests and award recipients were Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann, Tatort actor Malick Bauer, actor and stuntman Aristo Luis, The Flying Bulls CEO Eskil Amdal, Living Legends of Aviation Executive Director Stacy Elsner, organiser Justin Lips, Gerfried Promberger, Commander of the Austrian Air Force, Shane Lundgren of the New York Explorers Club, Living Legend of Aviation Iren Dornier, Cyrus Brantenberg of Hellenic Seaplanes, luger Max Langenhan, and “Jet Pack Man” Issa Kalfon.

Awards Presented at the Gala

Among the 2026 award recipients was Éric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, who received the Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award. The Lifetime Aviation Industry Leader Award went to Jérémie Caillet, President of Jet Aviation. Daniel Metzler, CEO and co-founder of Isar Aerospace, received the Eren Ozmen Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

An extraordinary aviation achievement lies behind the Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Award, presented to Didier Delsalle. The former Chief Test Pilot of Airbus Helicopters remains the only person to have successfully landed a helicopter on Mount Everest.

The Freedom of Flight Award was presented to Marco Waltenspiel and Marco Fürst of the Red Bull Skydive Team. The two made aviation history by becoming the first people in the world to fly through London’s Tower Bridge in wingsuits.

Five further distinguished personalities were inducted into the Hall of Fame and can now call themselves “Living Legends of Aviation”: ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who has already completed two long-duration missions aboard the International Space Station (ISS); Slovak aircraft designer Prof. Štefan Klein, whose AirCar became the first flying car to receive an airworthiness certificate; Hans Jürgen Ostler, founder of HTM Helicopter Travel Munich; as well as two legendary pilots from the ranks of The Flying Bulls, Raimund Riedmann and Siegfried “Blacky” Schwarz.

Air Show by The Flying Bulls, the Austrian Aviation Police and the Armed Forces

During the “Flying Emotions” and “Flying Opera” air shows, the sky above the Salzkammergut became a stage for aviation artistry and music.
World record holder Dario Costa demonstrated in his Edge 540 why he ranks among the very best in his field. The Flying Bulls showcased historic aircraft including the Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, the Lockheed P-38 “Lightning”, and the aerobatic BO-105 helicopter.
Peter Salzmann, Marco Fürst and Marco Waltenspiel performed a joint skydive featuring a wingsuit foil and two wingsuits.
The Austrian Armed Forces were represented by their new Leonardo AW169M, while the Austrian Aviation Police joined forces with the COBRA special operations unit to demonstrate operational scenarios.
Throughout the day, the Austrian Armed Forces and Aviation Police also provided information on pilot training in the public viewing area along the lakeside promenade.

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Erwin Schrott, Rolf Stahlhofen and Andrew Roachford Live

Bass-baritone Erwin Schrott created a musical world premiere with his performance during the air show over Lake Wolfgang. Accompanied by The Big Island Orchestra, conducted by Martin Gellner, he performed selected songs from his classical crossover album “Havanna Nocturna”, bringing together opera, orchestral music and aviation in a unique and spectacular overall experience.

Other artists performing throughout the evening included Rolf Stahlhofen, founding member of the Söhne Mannheims, as well as Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar, both lead singers of Mike + The Mechanics.

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Science Lounge: Where the Future of Flight Begins

At the Science Lounge, leading experts and technology pioneers explored how innovative aircraft, new mobility concepts and advanced space technologies could shape the future of flight.

Airbus Helicopters presented its new high-speed helicopter “RACER”, while FACC, together with Embraer, showcased the fully electric eVTOL “EVE” developed by Eve Air Mobility. Rocket Factory Augsburg presented its approach to manufacturing rocket engines according to the principles of industrial series production, with the aim of making satellite launches more cost-effective in Europe.

Several of these technologies could also be experienced first-hand on site — from the EVE eVTOL simulator and the AVILUS “GRILLE” rescue drone to an original rocket engine mock-up from Rocket Factory Augsburg and a model of the AirCar.

The panel discussion was moderated by Annabelle Mandeng and featured Robert Machtlinger of FACC, Johannes Plaum of Airbus Helicopters, Dr. Stefan Brieschenk of Rocket Factory Augsburg, Daniel Dollinger of AVILUS, as well as Prof. Stefan Klein and Anton Zajac of Klein Vision.

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