René Moineau, 1887-1948 : aviator and inventor

Description

Early aviation poineer, René Moineau designed, built and flew on his first glider when he was only 21 years old.

Earning his pilot certificate in 1911, he worked as trial pilot at Breguet’s before becoming chief pilot and technical director.

Winning competitions during Deauville and Monaco’s air shows in 1913, he tried out the first seaplanes ever built.

When WWI broke, René Moineau was drafted as pilot to the Breguet 17 Squadron in August 1914. His missions during the war included supporting the Infantry during the fierce battles in Lorraine, hand-throwing shells and darts on the enemy.

In 1915, the pilot designed his first aeroplane, a biplane with a propeller fitted at the rear of the craft, before designing the Salmson-Moineau, an airplane that would equip many squadrons from August 1916 until the end of the war.

His career moved on to inventions and patents :

• Designing a retractable landing gear in 1918
• Building a shroud-less monoplane racer with thick wings in 1919
• Elaborating variable camber leading edge on airfoils in 1922.

René Moineau did some research and tests for the helicopter. When trying to improve airplane compressors, he invented a revolutionary pumping system, a device including a helical rotor turning inside a stator. Marketed since 1933, this invention is known today as the Moineau Pump.

Discover the passionate life of René Moineau, his adventures and the researches he undertook on his own : an example of free entrepreneurship hard to imagine in the 21^st Century.