Jean-Marie Saget (17 March 1929 – 20 March 2020) was a French military pilot who later worked for
Dassault Aviation
Dassault Aviation SA () is a French Aerospace manufacturer, manufacturer of military aircraft and business jets.
It was founded in 1929 by Marcel Dassault, Marcel Bloch as Société des Avions Marcel Bloch or "MB". After World War II, Marc ...
as a
test pilot from 1955 to 1989.
Biography
Saget began flying in 1946, thanks to his father's
Nord Aviation Nord 1300. In 1949, he graduated from the
École de l'air. After an internship in the
United States, Saget acquired a pilot's license, practicing with the
Beechcraft T-6 Texan II and the
North American P-51 Mustang. Shortly thereafter, he joined the
French Air Force
The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...
.
In addition to his military and professional career, Saget was an
aerobatic
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...
instructor, with over 7000 hours of flight time on the
Mudry CAP 10. He served as President of the Cercle de Chasse association in
Nangis and the Aéro Club Marcel Dassault Voltige. In total, he accumulated more than 20,000 flight hours on 150 types of aircraft.
Saget died on 20 March 2020 at the age of 91. His daughter is French perfumer
Anne-Marie Saget.
Awards and decorations
*Officer of the
Legion of Honour
*Commander of the
Ordre national du Mérite
*
Aeronautical Medal
*Prix Icare (1982), awarded by the Association des journalistes professionnels de l'aéronautique et de l'espace (AJPAE)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saget, Jean-Marie
1929 births
2020 deaths
French Air and Space Force personnel
Aviators from Paris