Matevž Lenarčič wins the Aviator of the Year award

The Slovenian extreme pilot Matevž Lenarčič received the majority of votes and won best aviator of the year at the Flightglobal Achievements Awards. Lenarčič flew around the globe for the second time with a Pipistrel ultralight aircraft. This year he flew above the North Pole and thus convinced the highest number of people to vote for him. His victory is even more important because the competition was very strong.

In the "Aviator of the Year" category of the Flightglobal Achievement Awards he defeated even the famous Felix Baumgartner who is known for his spectacular space jump. Other nominees were a helicopter crew that had to ditch in the North Sea and managed to save all of its 14 passengers, and the NATS Olympics team which coordinated air traffic during the London Olympic Games.

The awards were allocated on 18th June in Paris at the Paris Air Show - the biggest air show in France. The global sales coordinator at Pipistrel, Igor Perkon congratulated Matevž on behalf of the Pipistrel company at the show. Pipistrel was very pleased with Matevž`s achievement. Their team has already won three NASA competitions. They received awards for their personal aircraft of the future and for the most energy-efficient aircraft. Lenarčič was always using their aircraft and "he once again proved that he and Pipistrel form a tandem that does not know any limits to aviation".

Matevž Lenarčič has been nominated because of his amazing achievements. In the framework of the GreenLight WorldFlight in 2012 he flew around the globe for the second time with an ultra-light aircraft weighing only 290 kilograms. He crossed the equator six times and flew 80,000 kilometres, crossed almost 60 countries and more than 120 natural parks. He flew above three oceans and five mountain tops including Mount Everest. He also landed on the Arctic which is the first landing ever executed by an ultra-light aircraft on this continent. This year Lenarčič carried out a new extraordinary flight - he flew over the North Pole in extreme conditions and thus set a new milestone in aviation history.

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