Judy Leden

Judy Leden, MBE (born 1959) is a British hang glider and paraglider pilot. She has held three world champion titles, twice in hang gliding, once in paragliding.

Biography 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 records 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, teaching and writing. She is a friend and supporter of Flyability, the BHPA charity to help disabled people to fly hang gliders and paragliders.

As a display pilot, Leden has been asked to take part in a range of airshows. She was asked to fly at the Imperial War Museum display at Duxford as part of their 2011 Spring Air Show themed Celebrating Women in Aviation. Unfortunately the strong winds made conditions unsafe for flying hang gliders.

Leden has landed many sponsorship deals, including Citroën. Her competitive success includes winning the Women's World Hang Gliding Championships in 1987 and again in 1991. She has been British Women's Champion six times and in 1995 she won the Women's World Paragliding Championship.

Leden's father was one of the Ashkenazi Jewish children (of Czech Jewish origin) saved by Sir Nicholas Winton prior to the outbreak of World War II. She took Winton flying in a microlight on a number of occasions including his 98th and 100th birthdays.

Achievements

In 1989 Leden became the first woman to fly over the English Channel by hang glider following a launch from a hot air balloon at 13,000 feet. The flight received substantial press attention and was featured in an episode of Spitting Image.

For the Channel 4 documentary Cotopaxi Dream she climbed and flew from the top of Cotapaxi, at 19,600 feet the world's tallest active volcano.

Leden undertook the "Flight for Life" flight from London to Amman, Jordan, for a cancer research campaign with Ben Ashman, which was inspired by—and in memory of—hang glider pilot Yasmin Saudi, who died of cancer at the age of 24. The flight succeeded in raising over £100,000, and it was filmed en route and released as a video.

In 1996, Leden's autobiography Flying with Condors was published.

Leden's wide experience with various aircraft, adventurous nature and low body weight has resulted in her being asked to test fly a number of unique aircraft. In 2003, she was asked to test fly a replica of a Leonardo da Vinci glider and in 2009 the makers of a replica of the first aircraft to fly in the UK recruited Leden in an attempt to get their replica Roe Triplane airborne.

Awards Leden was awarded an MBE in 1989 for her services to hang gliding, and has received many other awards, including the Royal Aero Club Gold Medal for 1995, and 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 Order of the Star of Jordan (First Class) by King Hussein. 13 July 1983 HG W Straight distance 233 km. (Feminine World, National) 28 April 1989 HG UK Open distance 114 miles from Wether Fell to Lincolnshire. 14 January 1990 HG W Distance with one turn point 81.72 km at Forbes, Australia. (Feminine World, National) This flight was filmed for the Discovery documentary Stratosfear by Matt Dickinson 12 January 1997 HG W Tandem flight to goal Steve Varden and Leden made flight to goal of 36.3 km from Kuruman, South Africa (Multiplace World, National) 15 October 2002 HG UK Tandem hang glider tow record Aerotow to over 11,000 feet. Her partner for the flight was Blue Peter presenter Matt Baker. 11 April 2003 PG UK Straight distance (F) 94.4 km, Bradwell Edge to Grasby, Ozone Vulcan 17 March 2004 PG UK Straight distance (F) 125.0 km, Bradwell Edge to Spilsby, Ozone Vibe

(1999) Scrapheap Challenge Series 2, Episode 1 "Flying Machine".

(2003) Woman's Hour - two interviews with presenter Jenni Murray discussing Leonardo's Dream Machine and flying with Sir Nicholas Winton

(2003) Blue Peter presenter Matt Baker taught to fly & makes successful tandem world record breaking flight with Airways instructor Judy Leden.

(2010) Blue Peter presenter Joel Defries learnt to fly with Airways instructor Judy Leden with the aim of flying with Lucy the peregrine falcon.

(2010) BBC Breakfast sports presenter Mike Bushell and BBC Disability Sport reporter Tony Garrett flew tandem with Airways instructor Judy Leden to experience hang gliding and to demonstrate the benefits of aerotowing for disabled students.

(2011) The Gadget Show presenter, Jon Bentley, flew with Judy Leden, competing with a peregrine falcon to track a lure.

(2011) Judy Leden took BBC Breakfast Weather reporter Carol Kirkwood flying in a hang glider to see a cloud close up and weigh it, for BBC's The Great British Weather Show.

(2014) TEDx Talk: Putting the F into Future: Judy Leden at TEDxHurstpierpointCollege