Max Holste (13 September 1913 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

– 19 August 1998 in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

) was a French

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

and founder of an

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry. ...

company of the same name in

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(now

Reims Aviation Reims Aviation Industries was a French aircraft manufacturer located in the city of Reims, most recently producing the F406 Caravan II. Reims Aviation was a wholly owned subsidiary of GECI Aviation. History Max Holste, the company founder, ...

). His company developed and produced many civil and military

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tig ...

engine aircraft, including the famous MH-1521 Broussard. He was also one of the lead engineers of the

Embraer Bandeirante The Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante (English: ''pioneer'') is a Brazilian general purpose 15–21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft designed by Embraer for military and civil use. The EMB 110 was designed by the French engineer Max ...

project. One of Holste's aircraft early designs, the MH52, fared well in competitions; based on this success, Holste designed a high-wing radial-engined utility aircraft, which became the Broussard. The company had good sales of the Broussard, due to high demand from the French military during the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

; this government demand effectively prevented export of the aircraft. Holste planned to improve the design, first as a twin-piston, then as a twin-turbine version, but too late: the company had been complacent with initial high demand for the Broussard but sales fell as it became outdated. Holste was ruined, and his factory taken over by his associate and WWII ace

Pierre Clostermann Pierre Henri Clostermann (28 February 1921 – 22 March 2006) was a World War II French people, French fighter pilot. During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General ...

with capital from

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing c ...

, and renamed Reims Aviation. The new design eventually became the

Nord 262 Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televis ...

. Holste left

for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 1964, having contacts there from Broussard sales visits. Brazil's nascent aviation industry welcomed the designer as a star. He fulfilled a government requirement as lead designer on the

Bandeirante The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 1494 ...

project, which first flew four years later. Unhappy, he formed his own company, and lived in neighbouring countries for the following years. Ruined again, recently divorced, and not on speaking terms with his children, he returned to France with a South American nurse in 1995, aged 82. He initially settled at

Bormes-les-Mimosas Bormes-les-Mimosas (; oc, Bòrmas dei Mimòsas) is a commune in the Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region, southeastern France. It has a Mediterranean climate. Bormes-les-Mimosas is a city in bloom and won the 2003 Gold Medal awar ...

, near his first wife Paule, then at

Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered around t ...

; Paule described him as having 'a difficult character'. He died in anonymity in 1998 and was buried in

; reportedly no-one attended his burial. In 2016 a commemorative service was held at Holste's grave in his honour.

References

Bibliography

*Polacco, Michel (2017). Une histoire d'amour. ''Info-Pilote, 736'', pp. 64–67 {{DEFAULTSORT:Holste, Max French aerospace engineers 1913 births 1998 deaths People from Nice