Joseph Lincoln was born in Cleveland, Ohio and moved to Phoenix In 1931. He attended schools in California and Arizona, graduating from the University of Arizona After a three-year stint in the Army Air Forces during world War II. Joe earned a private pilot’s license in 1947 but began soaring in 1956 at Falcon Field in Mesa. After buying his first sailplane he began his long association with soaring as a competitor in the National Soaring Championships As well as regional soaring contests. He won the Barringer Memorial Trophy in 1960 for the longest straight distance soaring flight in the U.S. – 455.5 miles from Prescott to Varadero, New Mexico. Joe was selected to the Helms Soaring Hall Of Fame in 1961 and in 1967 set a U.S. Multiplace Distance Soaring Record of just over 500 miles.