Meyer, W.-I. Im Zeichen der Schwinge. Deutsche Luftfahrtabzeichen einst und jetzt. collectAvia - Documentation

With this book you are holding in your hands a standard work that has not yet been available on the German or international book market. It contains the aviation insignia from the beginning of aviation until today, a total of no less than 1793 systematically numbered insignia in 1853 colour photos. As many of the badges illustrated here have remained virtually unknown due to the effects of war, this publication is a must for those interested in aerophaleristics, collectors, auctioneers, museums, archives, pilots and air sports enthusiasts alike. Arranged chronologically and with information on each badge, a citable standard work has been created that is unique in its kind and convincing in its scope.

When the author, who was fourteen years old at the time, was presented with the Level I Model Flying Performance Badge with the associated large certificate of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) by the German Aero Club at club level in December 1955, he wore this badge among his friends, at school and in the flying club, as it were, "with a swollen chest". The situation was not much different soon after he earned his Level C glider badge. Today, long since in possession of diamond-embellished performance badges for motorised and gliding flight, none of the badges are worn any more. This is certainly not only due to the shyness of "showing off" such merits to third parties. Especially in the civilian sector, the symbolic character of badges, orders and decorations or comparable identity-creating emblems has long been displaced in favour of openly displayed monetary status symbols with a high media attention value. Nowadays, it is not the discreet sign on the chest, the public perception of the person himself, his demonstrative display in the media that guarantees identity-creating attention. Sociologists speak of a paradigm shift in public perception. So is collecting badges, orders and decorations pure nostalgia or an expression of interest in historical developments in embossed form?