St. Wolfgang, September 1, 2024 - Once again, leading figures from business, industry, and society gathered at the event resort scalaria on Lake Wolfgang for the presentation of the "Oscars of Aerospace" at the Living Legends of Aviation Europe Awards to celebrate. A total of 11 award winners from aviation, aerospace, and business were honored with awards and inducted into the Hall of Fame as Living Legends of Aviation. The aerial program was provided by The Flying Bulls, award winner Dario Costa, Living Legend Hall of Fame member Felix Baumgartner and two Eurofighters from the Austrian Armed Forces. In the newly established Science Lounge possible future mobility scenarios were also presented and discussed.

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The World Visits Lake Wolfgang

The Living Legends of Aviation Awards, founded in 2003 by Jerry Lips in Los Angeles, have also become one of the industry's most important events in Europe. With brilliant sunshine, seaplanes on the sparkling lake, and the impressive mountain landscape of the Salzkammergut, the setting couldn't have been more perfect as the red carpet filled up on Saturday afternoon: Moto GP rider Dani Pedrosa, Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut, gliding world champion Bruno Gantenbrink, Kenn Ricci, Chairman of Flexjet, Living Legend Bertrand Piccard, Greg Williams, owner of Williams Turbines, Lucie Pereyre, 4th-generation representative of the house, Fatih Ozmen, CEO of Sierra Nevada Corporation, Justin Lips and Stacy Elsner Living Legends of Aviation Organizer and many more were spotted.

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Awards at the Gala

The 2024 award winners included Markus Bucher, CEO of Pilatus Aircraft, who received the Dr. Sam B. Williams Technology Award , as well as Dieter Morszeck, founder of Rimowa and owner of WACO Aircraft, who accepted the Eren Ozmen Entrepreneur of the Year Award . The Aviation Industry Leader Award went to Gilles Labbé, one of the leading suppliers in the international jet industry. A special honor was bestowed upon Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury , who was recognized as Lifetime Aviation Industry Leader was honored. Steve Varsano of The Jet Business received the Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award.

Peter Besenyei, known as the pioneer of the Red Bull Air Race , Ben Chin, owner of Diamond Aircraft, Elie Zelouf of Jet Aviation and Ivo Boscarol of Pipistrel were inducted into the Hall of Fame and can now call themselves „Living Legends of Aviation“ . Special recognition was given to Red Bull pilot Dario Costa, who made history on September 4, 2021, by flying through two tunnels in Istanbul, thereby setting a new was immortalized in the Book of Records. For this outstanding achievement, he received the Bob Hoover Freedom of Flight Award. The audience could witness his great passion for flying on Saturday at the Red-Carpet Opening Show over Lake Wolfgang. There, he also put on an impressive flight demonstration together with a Flying Bulls' P-51D Mustang, the award's namesake's most famous aircraft, Bob Hoover.

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