Jean Boulet (16 November 1920, Brunoy – 13 February 2011,

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

) was a French aviator. In 1957, Boulet was awarded the Aeronautical Medal; in 1983, he became one of the founding members of the French National Air and Space Academy. He died at the age of 90.

Early life

He was born on 16 November 1920 in Brunoy, near Paris. Jean Boulet was a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique, which he entered in 1940. He was first hired in 1947 by the

SNCASE SNCASE (abbreviated from ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du Sud-Est'') or Sud-Est was a French aircraft manufacturer. The company was formed on February 1, 1937, by the nationalization and merger of Lioré et Olivier, Pote ...

, which would become

Sud Aviation Sud Aviation (, 'Southern Aviation') was a French state-owned aircraft manufacturer, originating in the merger of Sud-Est ( SNCASE, or ''Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du sud-est'') and Sud-Ouest ( SNCASO or ''Société nat ...

and then later the helicopter division of

Aérospatiale Aérospatiale () was a major French state-owned aerospace manufacturer, aerospace and arms industry, defence corporation. It was founded in 1970 as () through the merger of three established state-owned companies: Sud Aviation, Nord Aviation ...

Career

Having been trained in the United States earlier in his life to become a military pilot with the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

, he was one of the first foreign pilots to fly a helicopter in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

. Over the years he would fast become one of the greatest pioneers in the history of rotorcraft flight testing.

Aviation records

Boulet set several rotorcraft recordsFAI Record ID #749 - Time to climb to a height of 9 000 m. Class E-1b (Helicopters: take off weight 500 to 1000 kg)
" ''

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

(FAI).'' Retrieved: 21 September 2014."History of Rotorcraft World Records, Sub-class:E-1 (Helicopters), General, Group 2:turbine"
''Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI)''. Retrieved 3 November 2010. for distance,FAI Record ID #977 - Distance over a closed circuit without landing. Class E-1 (Helicopters), piston

FAI Record ID #982 - subclass
''

(FAI).'' Retrieved: 21 September 2014. altitudeFAI Record ID #9876 - Altitude without payload. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine
" ''

(FAI).'' Retrieved: 21 September 2014.FAI Record ID #9874 - Altitude without payload. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine
" ''

(FAI).'' Retrieved: 21 September 2014. and speed.FAI Record ID #981 - Speed over a closed circuit of 1 000 km without payload. Class E-1c (Helicopters: take off weight 1000 to 1750 kg), piston
''

(FAI).'' Retrieved: 21 September 2014. On 21 June 1972, Boulet set the world record (still valid FAI Record ID #754 - Altitude without payload. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine

FAI Record ID #753 - subclass
''

(FAI).'' Retrieved: 21 September 2014.) for the highest altitude reached by a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

, when he piloted an Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama to an altitude of . When he reduced power and began to descend, because of the extreme cold, the engine flamed out, and Boulet performed the highest ever full touch down

autorotation Autorotation is a state of flight in which the main rotor system of a helicopter or other rotary-wing aircraft turns by the action of air moving up through the rotor, as with an autogyro, rather than engine power driving the rotor. Bensen, Igor ...

, landing with absolutely no power. This high altitude autorotation also set a new world record. Because of his unpowered flight back to the ground, he is also credited with the largest altitude flown with an

autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), gyroscope, gyrocopter or gyroplane, is a class of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. A gyroplane "means a rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-d ...

Publications

*''L'Histoire de L'hélicoptère, Racontée Par Ses Pionniers, 1907-1956'' (Editions France-Empire, 1982) *''History Of The Helicopter: As Told By Its Pioneers, 1907-1956'', Claude Dawson (translator) (Editions France-Empire, 1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulet, Jean 1920 births 2011 deaths École Polytechnique alumni Flight altitude record holders French aerospace engineers French aviation record holders French test pilots Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal Rotorcraft flight record holders Sud Aviation Supaéro alumni