For the 5th anniversary, leaders from the aerospace, business, and social sectors gathered at the event resort on Lake Wolfgang to celebrate the "Academy Awards of Aviation" at the scalaria Living Legends of Aviation Europe. In this anniversary year, six winners received prestigious awards, and five additional figures were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Hollywood star Morgan Freeman returned to Lake Wolfgang for the second time since 2022, presenting the awards alongside actress Annabelle Mandeng during the evening gala. The air show over Lake Wolfgang featured spectacular performances by The Flying Bulls, Red Bull Blanix, world record holder Dario Costa, the Red Bull Skydive Team, the Austrian Armed Forces, and the flight police. Earlier, international experts from industry and technology discussed in the Science Lounge how new mobility concepts, innovative aircraft, and European space technologies could transform the future of flight.

The world comes to Lake Wolfgang

The Living Legends of Aviation Awards have become one of the most significant meeting points for the international aviation and aerospace industry in Europe as well. Despite late-summer weather that started off changeable, the red carpet at the scalaria beach began to fill up on Saturday afternoon.

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The spotlight was on Hollywood star and host Morgan Freeman, who arrived with his partner, Dr. Linda Keena. Among the guests and award winners 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 and organizer Justin Lips, Gerfried Promberger, Commander of the Austrian Air Force, Shane Lundgren, New York Explorers Club, Living Legend of Aviation Iren Dornier, Cyrus Brantenberg of Hellenic Seaplanes, luger Max Langenhan, and “Jet Pack Man” Issa Kalfon were spotted.

Where Legends Are Honored

The 2026 honorees included 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 is behind the Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Award for Didier Delsalle. The former chief test pilot for Airbus Helicopters remains the only person to have successfully landed a helicopter on Mount Everest.

With the Freedom of Flight Award , Marco Waltenspiel and Marco Fürst from the Red Bull Skydive Team were honored. The pair made aviation history when they became the first people in the world to fly through London's Tower Bridge in wingsuits.

Five other individuals 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-term missions on the International Space Station (ISS); Slovakian designer Prof. Štefan Klein, whose AirCar was the first flying car to receive a certificate of airworthiness; Hans Jürgen Ostler, founder of HTM Helicopter Travel Munich; as well as Raimund Riedmann and Siegfried "Blacky" Schwarz , two pilot legends from the ranks of The Flying Bulls.

➔ to the award winners

Air show by The Flying Bulls, the police aviation unit, and the Austrian Armed Forces

At the "Flying Emotions" and "Flying Opera" air shows, the sky over the Salzkammergut region became a stage for aerial artistry and music. World record holder Dario Costa demonstrated with his Edge 540 why he is among the best of the best in his field, while The Flying Bulls presented historic aircraft such as 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 with their new Leonardo AW169M, as was the police aviation unit, which conducted operational simulations alongside the COBRA tactical unit. Throughout the day, the Armed Forces and the police aviation unit provided information about pilot training in the public viewing area along the lake promenade.

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Erwin Schrott, Rolf Stahlhofen, and Andrew Roachford live

Bass-baritone Erwin Schrott delivered a musical world premiere with his performance at the airshow on Lake Wolfgang. Accompanied by The Big Island Orchestra, conducted by Martin Gellner, he performed selected songs from his classical crossover album "Havanna Nocturna," blending opera, orchestral music, and aviation artistry into an extraordinary experience. Other artists featured that evening included Rolf Stahlhofen, a founding member of Söhne Mannheims, as well as Andrew Roachford and Tim Howar, both frontmen of Mike + The Mechanics.

Science Lounge: Where the future of flight begins

Airbus Helicopters presented the new high-speed "RACER" helicopter, while FACC and Embraer showcased the all-electric "EVE" eVTOL from Eve Air Mobility. Rocket Factory Augsburg demonstrated its approach to manufacturing rocket engines using industrial mass-production principles, aiming to make European satellite launches more cost-effective.

Several of these technologies could be experienced firsthand on-site: from the "EVE" eVTOL simulator and the AVILUS "GRILLE" rescue drone to an original mock-up of a Rocket Factory Augsburg rocket engine and a model of the AirCar.

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