Hélène Boucher

Hélène Boucher (; 23 May 1908 — 30 November 1934) was a well-known French pilot in the early 1930s, when she set several women's world speed records and the all-comers record for 1,000 km (621 mi) in 1934. She was killed in an accident in the same year.

Early life and education

Hélène Boucher was the daughter of a Parisian architect; after an ordinary schooling she experienced flight at Orly and then became the first pupil at the flying school run by Henri Fabos at Mont-de-Marsan. She rapidly obtained her brevet (no. 182) aged 23, bought a de Havilland Gypsy Moth and learned to navigate and perform aerobatics. In 1928 she designed the first flight jumpsuit with pockets for emergency tools.

Literature Antoine Rédier: Hélène Boucher, jeune fille de France, Flammarion in 1935 with a preface by Victor Denain.