René Mouille (30 October 1924 – 10 January 2019) was a French engineer, and designer of many of France's most well-known and important

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 ...

s, widely flown by many air forces around the world.

Education

Mouille studied at the École spéciale des travaux aéronautiques (ESTAé) in

Orsay Orsay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Essonne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. A fortifie ...

, which closed in 1988; the college has been superseded by the

Arts et Métiers ParisTech Arts et Métiers ParisTech () is a French engineering and research institute of higher education. It is a ''grande école'', recognized for leading in the fields of mechanics and industrialization. Founded in 1780, it is among the oldest French i ...

Career

Sud Aviation

He joined

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 ...

. The first helicopter that he designed was the

SNCASE SE.3110 The SNCASE SE-3110 or Sud-Est SE-3110 was a French two seat experimental helicopter with unusual twin, angled tail rotors, first flown in 1950. After brief tests SNCASE decided to concentrate on a closely related but single-tail-rotor design. De ...

, the first French helicopter, flown by Jacques Lecarme in June 1950. The SNCASE SE.3120 Alouette first flew in July 1951, flown by

Jean Boulet Jean Boulet (16 November 1920, Brunoy – 13 February 2011, Aix-en-Provence) 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 Academ ...

. His next helicopter was the

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 ...

SE 3130 known as the

Aérospatiale Alouette II The Aérospatiale Alouette II (, "lark"; company designations SE 313 and SA 318) is a French light helicopter originally manufactured by Sud Aviation and later Aérospatiale. It was the first production helicopter powered by a gas turbine e ...

, working with the engineer Charles Marchetti (1916-1991), and manufactured between 1956 and 1975. The

Aérospatiale Alouette III The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by France, French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a popular ro ...

first flew in 1959, of which over 2000 were made. The SNCASE SE.3200 Frelon first flew in June 1959; The

Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon The Aérospatiale (formerly Sud Aviation) SA 321 Super Frelon ("Super Hornet") is a three-engined heavy transport helicopter produced by aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation of France. It held the distinction of being the most powerful helicopte ...

first flew in December 1962, being first made by Sud Aviation. Gazelle1 edit1

In the later 1960s, he developed the

fenestron A Fenestron (sometimes alternatively referred to as a fantail or a "fan-in-fin" arrangementLeishman 2006, p. 321.) is an enclosed helicopter tail rotor that operates like a ducted fan. The term ''Fenestron'' is a trademark of multinational helic ...

design for a helicopter's rear

tail rotor The tail rotor is a smaller rotor mounted vertically or near-vertically at the tail of a traditional single-rotor helicopter, where it rotates to generate a propeller-like horizontal thrust in the same direction as the main rotor's rotation. ...

, with Paul Fabre, the aerodynamicist of Sud Aviation. He invented the Starflex and Spheriflex

rotorhead In helicopters the rotorhead is the part of the Helicopter rotor, rotor assembly that joins the blades to the shaft, Helicopter flight controls#Cyclic, cyclic and Helicopter flight controls#Collective, collective mechanisms. It is sometimes referre ...

designs. He became chief designer of Sud Aviation helicopter division in 1960. Sud Aviation had their main helicopter factory at

La Courneuve La Courneuve () is a commune in Seine-Saint-Denis, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History Inhabited since pre-Roman times, the area is thought to have been a small village up through the Middle Ages. With its proximity to Par ...

but later moved to

Marignane Marignane (; ) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. Geography It is a component of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, and the largest suburb of the city of Marsei ...

in south-east France, in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

region.

Airbus Helicopters Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries, holding 48% of the wo ...

(former Eurocopter Group from 1992-2014) has its main factory here.

Aérospatiale

He was chief designer of the

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 ...

helicopter division until 1988.

Awards

The American Helicopter Society (now the

Vertical Flight Society The Vertical Flight Society, formerly the American Helicopter Society (AHS), is the non-profit technical society for the advancement of vertical flight. It has 21 different technical committees and two dozen active chapters around the world. The ...

) recognized him with all three of its highest honors: * 1975 Honorary Fellow — granted to Society members whose career-based leadership, vision or other meritorious contribution has advanced significantly the interests of Vertical Flight Society and the vertical flight community. Mouille's citation was: "For the design of the Fenestron fan-in-fin tail rotor system and his continued efforts to improve the technology of our industry." * 1979 Alexander Klemin Award — given for notable achievement in advancement of vertical flight aeronautics * 1990 Alexander A. Nikolsky Honorary Lecturer — given to an individual who has a highly distinguished career in vertical flight aircraft research and development and is skilled at communicating their technical knowledge and experience. Mouille's lecture was entitled, "Technological Evolution of French Helicopters." In December 1977, he won the Bregeut Trophy from the

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

.Flight International December 1977
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References

External links

Google Patents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mouille, René 1924 births 2019 deaths Aérospatiale Aérospatiale SA 340 Gazelle Aviation history of France French aviation pioneers Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal Sud Aviation