Rene Couzinet

See also: Couzinet

Rene Couzinet (° 1904 - † 1956) was an engineer in Aéronautique French.

Born the July 20th 1904 with Saint-Martin-of-Walnut trees in the Vendée, wire of Teacher, it is impassioned very young person for the Aviation by observing the flight of the Hirondelle S. It enters in 1921 to the Technical school of Angers from where it will leave 2nd his promotion, not without to have meanwhile deposited several patents relating to aviation, before integrating the University of aeronautics in 1924. It is built-in in November 1925 in the Air force where he becomes second lieutenant.

In 1927, it builds the Couzinet 10 which is the Arc-en-Ciel n°1 whose pace is very modern for the time. It is a three-engined monoplane with thick wing, with a frayed drift characteristic of all the Arcs-en-Ciel which will follow. The first flight will take place on May 7th 1928.

In 1928, it builds the Couzinet 27 , four-seater of raid which is crushed on August 8th, 1928 during tests where the mechanic and the pilot are killed.

The Couzinet 33 Biarritz , four-seater intended for the transport of mail makes its first flight on November 25th 1931. From March 6th to April 5th, 1932, it carries out the first air link France- New Caledonia. But it is destroyed with Noumea. The Biarritz n°2 is built with recovered elements: it carries out a direct flight Algiers - Paris but is crushed with Blaisy-Bas in October 1933.

In 1932, the Couzinet 70 ( Rainbow n°3 ) made its first flight on February 11th and on January 16th 1933, controlled by Jean Mermoz and accompanied by Couzinet itself, it crosses the South Atlantic of Saint-Louis-of-Senegal to Natal in less than 3 p.m. The return is carried out from May 15th to May 21st when the arrival with the Le Bourget is triumphal in front of 15000 people. The plane was then used by Air France until 1937.

All its planes preserved the same formula three-engined but its achievements never were well accepted by the official ones of French aeronautics.

At the time of the Second world war, he emigrates with the Brésil where he is in charge of the technical direction of national aeronautics. On its return, the majority of the doors of research departments are closed to him. Its multiple and futuristic projects of hydroplane and planes on vertical takeoff will not exceed the stage of models. Despaired, it commits suicide with his wife on December 16th 1956.

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