Judy Leden

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. Involved at Airways Airsports from the start, Leden is the senior instructor proficient in every form of free flying.

Leden's father was one of the children saved by Sir Nicholas Winton prior to the outbreak of World War II. She has taken him 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.

In early 1992 Leden took part in the Flight of the Dacron Eagles, a 1000-mile, three-week microlight and hang glider expedition down the rift valley in Kenya, filming for the BBC 1 Classic Adventure series with cameramen Sid Perou, microlight pilots Richard Meredith-Hardy and Ben Ashman and hang glider pilots Mark Dale, Tim Hudson and Louise Anderton.

The "Flight for Life" flight from London to Amman, Jordan for a cancer research campaign with Ben Ashman 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 was filmed en route and made into a video.

In 1996 Leden's autobiography Flying with Condors was published. This title was also used for a BBC 1 Natural World documentary in which Leden and her husband Chris Dawes travelled to Patagonia to fly with Andean condors using hang gliders, paragliders and paramotors.

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, 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 Star of the First Order by King Hussein.

Media appearances

(1989) ITN news reports on crossing the English Channel landing on the beach at Calais.

(1991) Cotopaxi Dream Channel 4 documentary. The first ever hang glider flight from one of the world's highest active volcanoes – Cotopaxi in Ecuador, which rises 19,600 feet.

(1992) Flight of Dacron Eagles BBC 1 Classic Adventure series

(1994) Stratosfear - Discovery Channel documentary on breaking the world altitude record for a hang glider release from a balloon taking off from Wadi Rum, Jordan to an altitude of 41,300 feet

Don't Try This at Home - tandem hang glider flight from a mountain

(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.

(2005) BBC 1 Natural World documentary Flying with Condors using hang gliders, paragliders and paramotors.

(2006) An extract from BBC's Great British Summer. Airways instructor Judy Leden flying Tandem with Cloud Appreciation Society founder Gavin Pretor-Pinney, showing him what its like to fly through the clouds on a hang glider.

(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