Hiya Jerry,
Lucky them winning flying lessons! I'd imagine that your family member will find out in due course what kind of aeroplane they will train in, but the most popular trainer seems to be the Cessna 150 / 152 variety it seems. The visibility for seeing the ground in said to be quite good (owing to the high wing), and although it will innevitably be noisy (especially compared to a glider) a good headset will sort that out.
I wonder if it is just an introductory flying lesson that they have won? It sounds like an excellent competition - what newspaper was it in?
T.