In the early 1920s two flying oranizations, the Association of the German Model and Gliding Clubs, and the Rhoen Soaring Association, determined that pilots would be listed as "A" level if they flew a glider for either 300 meters or 30 seconds, and "B" level if they made two flights of 45 seconds in straight lines plus one of 60 seconds in an "S" pattern. (It should be remembered that these flights were made by bungee cord launches down hillsides.) In time a "C" level, requiring a five minute flight, was added. A few years later Fritz Stamer, chief flight instructor of an early gliding school, designed the gull insignia which were used for these awards and later for the badges.
ISTUS (Internationale Studienkommission für motorlosen Flug), was founded in Frankfurt on 13 June 1930, to record international gliding achievements. The founding nations were Belgium, France, Holland, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and the USA. A series of badges for gliding was devised called A, B, C, D etc.
Later the D badge became known as the Silver C, and more often today just the Silver Badge. Earning the Silver C Badge shows that a glider pilot has achieved an altitude gain of at least 1,000 m, made a five-hour duration flight, and has flown cross-country for a straight-line distance of at least 50 km: these three attainments are usually, but not invariably, achieved in separate flights. The first recipients of the Silver C were Wolf Hirth and Robert Kronfeld on 15 February 1931.
In 1932 the FAI recognized gliding, and formed a new section: the Commission Internationale de Vol à Voile (CIVV). This eventually took over the role of ISTUS. The FAI decided that the Silver C was sufficiently meritorious to be internationally recognised, and issued the first 300 before turning the awarding over to the national societies. From the beginning the lesser badges were only recorded by local gliding associations, and their criteria varies, although they are usually integrated into organized training programs. For example, in the United States a Bronze Badge is issued for demonstrated pre-cross country flying skills beyond the C level. In Britain a pilot progresses from the B to the Bronze level and then receives an additional endorsement for cross-country training.
The E badge (later called the Gold C and now usually just the Gold Badge) was established in 1935. A pilot who has completed the Gold Badge has flown 300km, though not necessarily to a pre-defined goal, gained 3,000 m in height and has made a five hour flight (only one has to be done to count for both the Silver and Gold). Up to this level the badges are registered only by the national gliding associations.
The F Badge (now the Diamond Badge) started in 1949. The Diamond Badge requires three achievements: flying 300 km to a pre-defined goal, going 500 km in one flight (but not necessarily to a pre-defined goal), and gaining 5,000 m in height. Earning all three "diamonds" qualifies the pilot for the FAI registry as a Diamond Badge holder. The FAI also issues a diploma for a flight of 1,000 km and further diplomas for increments of 250 km.
Gliding records
The wide variety of records have been defined by the FAI Gliding Commission. The classes of glider have been combined into four groups: Open, 15 metre, World Class and Ultralight. Although female pilots can claim world records in these general categories, there are also additional records in these categories just for female pilots. Because of the number of records the table below only summarises some of the Open Category gliding records as at the beginning of 2008. A full list is available on the FAI web site. Records that had not yet been ratified have not been included.
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