René Simon (aviator)
René Simon was a French aviator.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. The first airplane rescue at sea by another airplane was made when on 14 August 1911 Simon had been flying over Lake Michigan in a monoplane and accidentally dived too low. Pilot Hugh Robinson in a Curtiss hydroplane spotted him and sent boats to his rescue.
In February 1911 the Mexican government engaged Simon to reconnoiter rebel positions near Juarez, Mexico. 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. He and his wife often dined with high-ranking military officials.
René Simon died in Cannes on 21 April 1947.
