André Turcat

André Turcat
Born	André Édouard Marcel Turcat  23 October 1921  Marseille
Died	4 January 2016  (aged 94) Beaurecueil
Occupation	Politician, aircraft pilot, test pilot
Awards	Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (2005) Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit (1996) Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1952)
Position held	member of the European Parliament (1980–1981)

Major André Édouard Turcat (23 October 1921 – 4 January 2016) was a French Air Force pilot and test pilot celebrated for flying the first prototype of Concorde for its maiden flight.^[1]

Turcat was born on 23 October 1921 in

.

Biography

After graduating from

school.

Shortly after graduating, Turcat took over the test campaign of the Nord 1500 Griffon, one of the world's first ramjet-powered aircraft. During this successful program, Turcat flew the Griffon at Mach 2.19, a feat that earned him the prestigious Harmon Trophy in 1958. A few months later (25 February 1959), Turcat broke the world speed record over 100 kilometers with the Griffon, at an average 1,643 km/h (1,021 mph).

Turcat left the military after the Griffon program ended and joined state-owned aircraft manufacturer

for their work on the Concorde test programme.

He was the founder and first president for the Académie nationale de l'air et de l'espace (ANAE) in 1983. The Academy is known as Académie de l'Air et de l'Espace since 2007. He was present on board the Air France Concorde (F-BVFC) during its retirement flight, on 27 June 2003, to the Airbus plant at Toulouse, where the French aircraft was built . He was an author and wrote several books. Among the latest are Concorde essais et batailles (1977) and Pilote d'essais: Mémoires (2005), both in French.^[2]

In 1998, Turcat was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.^[3]

References