René Simon (aviator) explained

René Simon
Birth Date:	8 December 1885
Birth Place:	Paris, France
Othername:	"Flying Fool"
Occupation:	aviator

René Simon (8 December 1885  - 21 April 1947) was a French aviator.^[1]

Biography

He was born in Paris and earned French license #177 from the Aero Club De France. He toured the United States in 1911–12 with the Moisant International Aviators. He became known for daring tactics and was called the Flying-Fool by the public.^[2] What has been termed "the first airplane rescue at sea by another airplane" was made on 14 August 1911. Simon had been flying over Lake Michigan in a monoplane when his plane accidentally went into the water but did not sink. Pilot Hugh Robinson in a Curtiss hydroplane spotted him and offered to fly him back to shore, but Simon, who was comfortable and smoking a cigarette,^[3] preferred to wait for a boat to come and tow both him and his plane back to dry land.^[4]

In February 1911 the Mexican government engaged Simon to reconnoiter rebel positions near Juarez, Mexico.^{[5] [6]} During World War I he commanded a squadron that taught acrobatic tactics to fighter pilots. Simon was married by the time of World War I and had a commission as a Capitaine(Captain). He and his wife often dined with high-ranking military officials.

René Simon died in Cannes on 21 April 1947.^[7]

See also

• List of pilots awarded an Aviator's Certificate by the Aéro-Club de France in 1910.

Sources

• Book: Kane, Joseph Nathan . 1997 . Famous First Facts, Fifth Edition . The H. W. Wilson Company . The first airplane rescue at sea by another airplane was made by Hugh Robinson on August 14, 1911. Pilot Rene Simon had been flying over Lake Michigan in a monoplane and dived down to wave to some motorboats. Unable to rise, he crashed into the lake. Robinson, in a Curtiss hydroplane, flew over to Simon and found him in his floating plane smoking a cigar. Robinson hailed several people in motorboats, and they towed Simon and his monoplane to the shore. . 0-8242-0930-3 . registration .

Notes and References

1. http://www.earlyaviators.com/esimonre.htm Rene Simon, Earlyaviators.com
2. Web site: René Simon . . 2005 . THE EARLY BIRDS OF AVIATION . George Ficke. September 19, 2015 .
3. News: Aviators Plunge Into Lake From High Altitudes . International News . Buffalo Courier . August 15, 1911 . 1 . Newspapers.com.
4. News: Lake Front Throng Sees 5 Aviators Fall – 2 In Lake . The Inter Ocean . Chicago . August 15, 1911 . 1 . Newspapers.com.
5. Kenneth Baxter Ragsdale Wings over the Mexican Border 1984 "In February 1911, the Mexican government engaged René Simon, a member of an aerial circus touring the southwestern United States, to reconnoiter rebel positions near Juarez, Mexico."
6. Gavin Mortimer Chasing Icarus: The Seventeen Days in 1910 That Forever Changed American Aviation 2010 Page 263 "René Simon and René Barrier had ."
7. Web site: Les écoles militaires de pilotage de 1911 à 1918.