Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

André Édouard Marcel Turcat (; 23 October 1921 – 4 January 2016) was a French Air Force pilot and

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

celebrated for flying the first prototype of

Concorde Concorde () is a retired Anglo-French supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and the United Kingdom signed a treaty establishin ...

for its 1969 maiden flight. Turcat was born in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

into a family in the automotive industry. He studied at

École polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

. In 1983 he founded the Académie nationale de l'air et de l'espace.

Biography

After graduating from

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

in 1942, Turcat joined the

Free French Air Forces The Free French Air Forces (, FAFL) were the air arm of the Free French Forces in the Second World War, created by Charles de Gaulle in 1940. The designation ceased to exist in 1943 when the Free French Forces merged with General Giraud's force ...

during the final years of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and stayed with

Armée de l'Air 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 ...

after the war. During the

Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between France and Việt Minh ( Democratic Rep ...

, Turcat served as a pilot of

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II. During the war the C-47 was used for troo ...

transport aircraft and demonstrated exceptional skills in handling a number of flight emergencies, thus earning an assignment to EPNER, France's

school. Shortly after graduating, Turcat took over the test campaign of the

Nord 1500 Griffon The Nord 1500 Griffon is an Experimental Aircraft, experimental ramjet-powered interceptor aircraft designed and built by France, French state-owned aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation. The Griffon was developed to become a Mach number, Mach 2 f ...

, one of the world's first

ramjet A ramjet is a form of airbreathing jet engine that requires forward motion of the engine to provide air for combustion. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around and can operate up to . Ramjets can be particularly appropriat ...

-powered aircraft. During this successful program, Turcat flew the Griffon at Mach 2.19, a feat that earned him the prestigious

Harmon Trophy The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix, and aeronaut (balloon or dirigible). A fourth trophy, the "National Trophy", was awarded from 1926 through 1938 in av ...

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

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 ...

as the

supersonic transport The ogive.html" ;"title="Concorde supersonic transport had an ogive">ogival delta wing, a slender fuselage and four underslung Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 engines. file:Tu-144.jpg, The Tupolev Tu-144 was the first SST to enter service and th ...

(SST) program was starting. He became Concorde's chief test pilot and Sud Aviation's director of flight testing. On 2 March 1969, Turcat had the honour of flying the first prototype of Concorde for its maiden flight. Later that year (1 October), he was also at the controls for Concorde's first supersonic flight. In 1973, he piloted Concorde 001 as it experienced a total solar eclipse for 74 minutes. Turcat conducted the rest of the French side of the Concorde test program (

Brian Trubshaw Ernest Brian Trubshaw, CBE, MVO (29 January 1924 – 24 March 2001) was a leading test pilot, and the first British pilot to fly Concorde, in April 1969. Biography Brian Trubshaw was born in Liverpool in 1924 although he grew up in Llane ...

being the chief test pilot on the British side), and retired from active flying duty in the late 1970s. Both Turcat and Trubshaw were awarded the Ivan C. Kincheloe Award 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 An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...

since 2007. He was present on board the

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

Concorde (F-BVFC) during its retirement flight, on 27 June 2003, to the

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

plant at

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, 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. In 1998, Turcat was inducted into the

International Air & Space Hall of Fame The International Air & Space Hall of Fame is an honor roll of people, groups, organizations, or things that have contributed significantly to the advancement of aerospace flight and technology, sponsored by the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Sin ...

at the

San Diego Air & Space Museum The San Diego Air & Space Museum (SDASM) is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California. It is located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park and is housed in the former Ford Building (San Diego), Ford Building, which is li ...

.Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ''These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame''. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turcat, Andre Edouard 1921 births 2016 deaths Concorde pilots Free French military personnel of World War II French aviation record holders French test pilots Harmon Trophy winners Ramjet engines Recipients of the Legion of Honour People from Marseille