Last week, at the Royal Aero Club Awards held at the RAF Club in London, Sir David Hempleman-Adams (pictured left) was officially presented with the title of FAI Companion of Honour—one of the highest distinctions awarded by FAI. The diploma was handed to him by FAI President of Honour David Monks (right).

His appointment as Companion of Honour at the 118th FAI General Conference 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, recognises his extraordinary contributions to ballooning, exploration, and the advancement of aviation.

A Lifetime of Pioneering Adventure

David Hempleman-Adams is a British adventurer renowned for setting numerous world records. He is the only person to have reached both the magnetic and geographic North and South Poles, and he christened the Adventurer's/Explorer's Grand Slam, after being first to add the highest peaks on all seven continents to his achievements.

This accomplished mountaineer, polar explorer, and sailor is also a record-breaking aviator. Over the course of his remarkable flying career, he has achieved more aviation "firsts" than any other pilot and has broken nearly 50 FAI world records.

His aviation journey began in 1998, when—despite having just 30 hours of flying experience—he became the first person to cross the Andes Mountains by hot air balloon.

One of his most historic achievements came in 2000, when he successfully completed a flight first attempted by S.A. Andrée in 1897: reaching the North Pole by gas balloon. Flying a Rozière balloon, David became the first person to fly over the North Pole in a balloon—a flight that lasted 132 hours and 22 minutes.

Known for favouring an open wicker basket, David appreciates the simplicity of gas ballooning and the strong sense of camaraderie in the aviation world, which he describes as, “very close, very supportive.”

He holds records in the AA, AM, AX, BX, and fixed-wing aircraft categories, spanning altitude, distance, and duration.

Beyond aviation, David has turned his attention to the environment. In 2016, he completed a circumnavigation of the North Pole by sailboat to raise awareness of the climate crisis—an extraordinary feat made possible only due to melting ice that once made the route impassable. In 2019, he sailed solo across the Atlantic.