Jacqueline Auriol
Jacqueline Auriol | |
|---|---|
_-_53Fi1884_(cropped).jpg) Auriol in 1969, at the first flight of the Concorde | |
| Born | Jacqueline Marie-Thérèse Suzanne Douet 5 November 1917 |
| Died | 11 February 2000 (aged 82) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Education | Lycée Blanche-de-Castille |
| Alma mater | University of Nantes École du Louvre |
| Spouse |
Paul Auriol
(m. 1938; div. 1967)
(m. 1987; died 1992) |
Jacqueline Marie-Thérèse Suzanne Auriol (French pronunciation:
Biography
Born in
In 1938, she married Paul Auriol, son of
She took up flying in 1946, got her pilot's license in 1948 and became an accomplished stunt flier and test pilot. Auriol was severely injured in a crash of a
She earned a military
On four occasions she was awarded the Harmon International Trophy by an American president in recognition of her aviation exploits. She once explained her passion for flying by saying: "I feel so happy when I'm flying. Perhaps it is the feeling of power, the pleasure of dominating a machine as beautiful as a Thoroughbred horse. Mingled with these basic joys is another less primitive feeling, that of a mission accomplished. Each time I set foot on an airfield, I sense with fresh excitement that this is where I belong."
In 1970, she published an autobiography, I Live to Fly, in both French and English.[1]
Auriol and her husband divorced in 1967 and remarried in 1987. They had two children together, both boys.[1] In 1983 she became a founding member of the French Académie de l'air et de l'espace.
Records
Auriol set the following speed records:[4][5]
- 12 May 1951 - Auriol set a Marseilles, to Avignon and back to claim the women's world air speed record from its previous holder, Jacqueline Cochran of the United States.
- 21 December 1952 - Flying a Sud-Est Mistral (a French-built development of the Vampire with a Hispano-Suiza Nene engine), Auriol broke her own 1951 world speed record over a 100-km (62.1-mile) closed circuit by flying at 855.92 km/h (531.84 mph).[4] The new record was set over the same 100-km (62.1-mile) closed course as in 1951, from Istres to Avignon and back.
- 31 May 1955 - Flying a Mystère IVN, Auriol broke the previous women's speed record over a 15/25-km (9.3/15.5-mile) straight course previously held by Jacqueline Cochrane with an FAI-ratified speed of 1,151 km/h (715.2 mph).[4]
- 22 Jun 1962 - Flying a Dassault Mirage IIIC, Auriol achieved an FAI-ratified average speed of 1,850.2 km/h (1,149.7 mph)[4]over the 100-km (62.1-mile) closed circuit at Istres, to reclaim the women's world air speed record in that category from Jacqueline Cochran.
- 14 Jun 1963 - Flying a Dassault Mirage IIIR, Auriol achieved an FAI-ratified average speed of 2,038.70 km/h (1,266.79 mph)[4] over a 100-km (62.1-mile) closed circuit at Istres. It was her final attempt to break the women's air speed record over that distance, and she broke a record Jacqueline Cochran had set over the distance in May 1963.
On 1 June 1964, Cochran broke Auriol′s June 1963 record, achieving an FAI-ratified average speed of 2,097.27 km/h (1,303.18 mph)[6] over a 100-km (62.1-mile) closed circuit in a Lockheed F-104G Starfighter.
Honours
- She was awarded four Harmon Trophies in 1951,1952,1953 and 1956.
- She was made Grand officier (Grand officer) of the Légion d'honneur.
- She was made grand-croix (Grand cross) of the Ordre national du Mérite in 1997.[7]
- Honored as an Eagle in 1992.[8]
- On 23 June 2003, France issued a €4.00 postage stamp in her honor.[9]
- Named an honorary fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots[10]
Sources
- I Live to Fly - Jacqueline Auriol. (1970) ISBN 0-525-13076-4
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Martin, Douglas (February 17, 2000). "Jacqueline Auriol, Top French Test Pilot, 82". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ Trenner, Patricia (March 1, 2003). "10 Great Pilots". Air & Space Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
- ^ "Family tree of Jacqueline AURIOL". Archived from the original on 2021-07-18. Retrieved 2021-07-18.
- ^ a b c d e f "FAI Records". www.fai.org. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2017-04-02. Search for "Jacqueline Auriol" in the "Person, Record, Year, ID..?" field under "Record Search".
- ^ "Aviation History - Browse the History of Flight from 1909". www.flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2017-04-02.
- ^ "FAI Records". www.fai.org. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2017-04-02. Search for "Jacqueline Cochran" in the "Person, Record, Year, ID..?" field under "Record Search".
- ^ ORDRE NATIONAL DU MERITE Décret du 14 mai 1997 portant élévation à la dignité de grand'croix et de grand officier (in French), archived from the original on 2016-08-03, retrieved 2017-04-02
- ^ "Auriol, Jacqueline". Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Gathering of Eagles Foundation. Archived from the original on 2022-08-13. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ "FR043.03". Universal Postal Union. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-01-21.
- ^ "Test Pilots Shun Swashbuckling Image". The New York Times. 1976-04-07. Archived from the original on 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
External links
- Biography on the Air University website
- Jacqueline Auriol's obituary in the La Dépêche newspaper (in French)
- Supersonic women: a duel in the sky by Fabrice Hourlier
Further reading
Joyce, Duncan (2010). Ahead of Their Time: A Biographical Dictionary of Risk-Taking Women. Portsmouth: Green Wood Publishing Group. pp. 27–30.
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