.mw-parser-output .hidden-begin{box-sizing:border-box;width:100%;padding:5px;border:none;font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .hidden-title{font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .hidden-content{text-align:left}You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (April 2012) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Jean Boulet]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template ((Translated|fr|Jean Boulet)) to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

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 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 he entered in 1940 and was first hired in 1947 by the SNCASE, which would become Sud Aviation and then later the helicopter division of Aérospatiale.

Career

Having been trained in the United States earlier in his life to become a military pilot with the French Air Force, he was one of the first foreign pilots to fly a helicopter in the United States Air Force. Over the years he would fast become one of the greatest pioneers in the history of rotorcraft flight testing.[1]

Aviation records

Boulet set several rotorcraft records[2][3] for distance,[4] altitude[5][6][7] and speed.[8]

On 21 June 1972, Boulet set the world record (still valid as of 2020[7]) for the highest altitude reached by a helicopter, when he piloted an Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama to an altitude of 12,442 metres (40,820 ft).[9] When he reduced power and began to descend, because of the extreme cold, the engine flamed out, and Boulet performed the highest ever, power off, full touch down autorotation, landing with absolutely no power.[10] This high altitude autorotation also set a new world record.[9] Because of his unpowered flight back to the ground, he is also credited with the largest altitude flown with an autogyro.

Publications

References

  1. ^ Guhl, Jean-Michel (11 February 2011). "Famous French test pilot Jean Boulet fades away". Archived from the original on 2013-02-16. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  2. ^ "FAI Record ID #749 - Time to climb to a height of 9 000 m. Class E-1b (Helicopters: take off weight 500 to 1000 kg) Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
  3. ^ "History of Rotorcraft World Records, Sub-class:E-1 (Helicopters), Category:General, Group 2:turbine". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  4. ^ "FAI Record ID #977 - Distance over a closed circuit without landing. Class E-1 (Helicopters), piston" FAI Record ID #982 - subclass Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
  5. ^ "FAI Record ID #9876 - Altitude without payload. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine Archived 2014-12-17 at the Wayback Machine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
  6. ^ "FAI Record ID #9874 - Altitude without payload. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine Archived 2014-12-17 at the Wayback Machine" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
  7. ^ a b "FAI Record ID #754 - Altitude without payload. Class E-1 (Helicopters), turbine Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine" FAI Record ID #753 - subclass Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
  8. ^ "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" Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Retrieved: 21 September 2014.
  9. ^ a b Ruffin, Steven A (2005). Aviation's Most Wanted: The Top 10 book of Winged Wonders, Lucky Landings and Other Aerial Oddities. Washington D.C.: Potomac Books. p. 320. ISBN 1-57488-674-6.
  10. ^ Swopes, Bryan R. "21 June 1972". thisdayinaviation.com. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
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