Judy Leden
Encyclopedia
Judy Leden, MBE
, has held three world championship
s, twice in hang gliding
, once in paragliding
. Judy Leden was born near London
in 1959. At the age of 19 whilst at studying in Wales
she took up hang gliding as a hobby. She later gave up her studies to concentrate on her flying, eventually taking the world championship. Judy also flies paragliders, microlight and paramotor
s.
Judy Leden's flying career began while she was at university in Cardiff
in 1979. She started competing in 1982 and broke many records in 1983. She currently holds world record
s for both hang gliding and paragliding. Leden turned professional in 1988, becoming the only woman to earn a living as a hang glider and paraglider pilot. Her work includes films, stunts, flying displays, lecturing, teaching and writing.
In 1989 Leden crossed the English Channel
when her hang glider was released from a hot air balloon
12,000 feet above the white cliffs of Dover
, landing on the beach at Calais
. In 1991 she made the first ever hang glider flight from one of the world's highest active volcanoes - Cotopaxi
in Ecuador
which rises 19,600 feet.
She won the Women's World Hang Gliding Championships in 1987 and again in 1991. She has been British Women's Champion six times and won the Women's World Paragliding Championship in 1995. Leden has been part of the British Hang Gliding Team since 1984 and latterly in Paragliding. She has captained the team on several occasions.
In May 1994 Leden successfully completed the “Flight For Life", by flying a microlight from England
to the Kingdom of Jordan, in memory of a friend called Yasmin who died of cancer
the year before. Six months later she broke the world hang gliding altitude record, being released from a balloon at 41,307 feet and experiencing a wind chill factor of -87C in the process she recently set new tandem World records, once with a co-pilot with cerebral palsy
, and the other with a blind albino woman. She is well known within the disabled flying community, and instructs disabled pilots at Airways Airsports
in Derbyshire.
Judy was awarded an MBE
in 1989 for her services to hang gliding and has received many other awards, including the Royal Aeroclub Gold Medal, Sportswoman of the year from Cosmopolitan magazine and Middlesex county
. She also received the Hussein Medal for Excellence in recognition of her flight to Jordan by microlight and the Star of the First Order, by King Hussein, after her world record balloon drop.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
, has held three world championship
World championship
A world championship is the top achievement for any sport or contest. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best nation, team, individual in the world in a particular field. Certain sports do not have a world championship, instead...
s, twice in hang gliding
Hang gliding
Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider ....
, once in paragliding
Paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure...
. Judy Leden was born near London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1959. At the age of 19 whilst at studying in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
she took up hang gliding as a hobby. She later gave up her studies to concentrate on her flying, eventually taking the world championship. Judy also flies paragliders, microlight and paramotor
Paramotor
Paramotor is a generic name for the propulsive portion of a powered paraglider . It consists of a frame that combines the motor, propeller, harness and cage...
s.
Judy Leden's flying career began while she was at university in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
in 1979. She started competing in 1982 and broke many records in 1983. She currently holds world record
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
s for both hang gliding and paragliding. Leden turned professional in 1988, becoming the only woman to earn a living as a hang glider and paraglider pilot. Her work includes films, stunts, flying displays, lecturing, teaching and writing.
In 1989 Leden crossed the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
when her hang glider was released from a hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
12,000 feet above the white cliffs of Dover
White cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...
, landing on the beach at Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
. In 1991 she made the first ever hang glider flight from one of the world's highest active volcanoes - Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about south of Quito, Ecuador, South America. It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of...
in Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
which rises 19,600 feet.
She won the Women's World Hang Gliding Championships in 1987 and again in 1991. She has been British Women's Champion six times and won the Women's World Paragliding Championship in 1995. Leden has been part of the British Hang Gliding Team since 1984 and latterly in Paragliding. She has captained the team on several occasions.
In May 1994 Leden successfully completed the “Flight For Life", by flying a microlight from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to the Kingdom of Jordan, in memory of a friend called Yasmin who died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
the year before. Six months later she broke the world hang gliding altitude record, being released from a balloon at 41,307 feet and experiencing a wind chill factor of -87C in the process she recently set new tandem World records, once with a co-pilot with cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
, and the other with a blind albino woman. She is well known within the disabled flying community, and instructs disabled pilots at Airways Airsports
Airways Airsports
Airways Airsports is based at Darley Moor Airfield, Derbyshire, is the only airpark in the United Kingdom offering hang gliding, paragliding, paramotoring and microlight training and flying. It is a British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and British Microlight Aircraft Association...
in Derbyshire.
Judy was awarded an MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
in 1989 for her services to hang gliding and has received many other awards, including the Royal Aeroclub Gold Medal, Sportswoman of the year from Cosmopolitan magazine and Middlesex county
Middlesex County
Middlesex County may refer to:In Canada:*Middlesex County, OntarioIn England:*Middlesex, EnglandIn Jamaica:*Middlesex County, JamaicaIn the United States:*Middlesex County, Connecticut*Middlesex County, Massachusetts...
. She also received the Hussein Medal for Excellence in recognition of her flight to Jordan by microlight and the Star of the First Order, by King Hussein, after her world record balloon drop.