Simine bases this month's article on Paul MacCready and gives his famous quote: "Vehicles for land or air that carry the dedication to efficiency, getting along on little power, that is the hallmark of soaring!"

Palau, a former United States Trust Territory in the Pacific, issued a souvenir sheet of 16 different stamps recalling major contributions by prominent environmental heroes of the 20th century. One of these is Dr Paul B. MacCready, founder and Chairman of AeroVironment, based in Monrovia, southern California,USA, and a glider pilot since the mid 1940s. This month’s article is a special salute to the man who is generally considered the “Father of Human Powered Flight”. At a recent meeting at Mississippi State University, in Starkville, Mississippi, Paul was the banquet speaker, reminiscing on many of the highlights in his life. Paul MacCready. Date of Issue: February 1, 1999. Country: Palau. Title: Paul B. MacCready, Environmental Heroes of the 20th century. Designer: Deborah Dudley Max.   Paul B. MacCready flying above the Owens valley, California, in his Orlik sailplane in 1948. On December 31,1948, Paul flew to 22 000ft with this ship. Photo by Bob Symons and from the Paul MacCready collection. He talked about his time as a soaring pilot flying the “Screaming Wiener", the Polish Orlik his Schweizer 1-23 and the Breguet 901. He also described his early mountain wave soaring above the Owens valley, his glider performance testing, and his distinguished records in local, national and international competitions. Soaring taught Paul to perceive and respect nature’s awesome realities, and to confidently and proactively deal with daunting challenges and rapid changes.<