Ingo Renner OAM four times World Gliding Champion hailed as Australia’s greatest exponent of gliding, died on 26 February in Tocumwal NSW at the age of 81.

AUSTRALIA, March 6, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Ingo Renner OAM four times World Gliding Champion hailed as Australia’s greatest exponent of gliding, died on Saturday 26 February in Tocumwal NSW at the age of 81. As well as winning four World Championship titles, he earned numerous national and international titles and trained hundreds of glider pilots in a career that spanned more than 50 years. Ingo was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987.

Born in Germany in 1940 , he became an Australian citizen in 1971 and went on to represent his new country at several World Gliding Championships. His first win was in the Standard Class at the World Championships at Rayskala, Finland, in 1976. He followed this with three consecutive wins in Open Class at the World Championships at Hobbs, New Mexico in 1983, at Rieti, Italy in 1985, and at Benalla, Australia in 1987. Other wins include 19 Australian National Gliding Championships, the Open Class Austraglide at Benalla in 1984, the Bremen Regional competition in Germany, the Queensland State competition (twice), the Smirnoff Derby and Hitachi Masters of Soaring in the United States and the Tour Lilienthal held in Berlin to celebrate 100 years of flight.

Among his other achievements are a two seater Distance World Record set on 27 January 1975 and a single seater speed World Record, flying a 100 kilometre triangle at 195.3 kph.

In 1988, Ingo Renner was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his service to gliding and in 2000 he received an Australian Sports Medal for “high levels of achievement in international competition flying over a long period”. During his gliding career, Ingo accumulated some 37,000 hours of flying and 32,000 hours instructing trainee glider pilots. He has made a significant contribution to the aviation industry through his professionalism and dedication to the world of gliding.

In 1988, he was awarded the Federation Aeronautic International (FAI) Lilienthal Gliding Medal. He was inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2005, and received the Dr Mervyn Hall Trophy from the GFA as the Australian (Open Class) Champion and the GFA Shield (Team Trophy), each seven times.
The President of Gliding Australia, the peak national body for gliding, Steve Pegler said,

‘Ingo is truly an Australian gliding legend. Through his career he won countless Australian and four world gliding championships. He set many gliding records and taught hundreds of people to fly. Ingo is arguably the most naturally gifted and generous glider pilot the world has ever seen.’

Ingo trained many hundreds of Australian glider pilots to fly from his home base at Tocumwal Airfield in NSW. Many of his students have gone on to represent Australia in World Gliding Championships and have won competitions in Europe, USA and all over Australia.

Above all, Ingo Renner OAM will be remembered as a gentleman of the highest order. He was an inspiration to generations of glider pilots not only because of his achievements, but also due to his friendly and genuine good nature. Wherever Australian glider pilots congregate, you will always hear anecdotes about Ingo. ‘Ingo taught me this, said that ….’ His influence will continue into the future, as will the fond memories so many people have of him.

ABOUT Gliding
The sport of gliding is an exhilarating, spectacular and serene flying experience. Gliders take to the air like birds with wings outstretched, soaring on rising air currents, immersed in three-dimensional space and flying silently with an eagle’s view of the world. The modern glider is a sophisticated, highly aerodynamic aircraft without an engine, designed to travel at speeds approaching 300kph and capable of heights in excess of 10,000 metres.
Find out more about the sport of gliding at https://glidingaustralia.org/

Sarah Thompson
Gliding Australia
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