El Trimotor Que Cruzó El Atlántico En 14 Horas Y Terminó Declarado Chatarra

René Couzinet designed the Arc-en-Ciel, a three-engine aircraft that, in 1933, piloted by Jean Mermoz, crossed the South Atlantic from Senegal to Brazil in 14 hours and 27 minutes, demonstrating that land-based aircraft could replace seaplanes on ocean routes. Fifteen thousand people welcomed the aircraft at Le Bourget Airport, but the nationalization of Aéropostale, the creation of Air France, and the systematic cancellation of contracts destroyed Couzinet's career. His aircraft was declared "good for burning" by the state-owned company itself. After losing Mermoz in 1936, going into exile in Brazil during the war, and seeing all his postwar projects rejected, Couzinet took his own life in Paris on December 16, 1956. Only the rudder of the Arc-en-Ciel survived. The photos used in this video are from archive.org and are in the public domain. @AlaLoca 00:00 René Couzinet was 23 years old and had a dream that seemed impossible 01:00 An airplane inspired by swallows that defied the entire French industry 02:00 The first prohibited flight and the accident that killed two crew members 03:00 After the disaster, Couzinet refuses to give up and seeks new funding 04:00 The Couzinet 70 takes off for the first time with a wingspan of 30 meters 05:00 Aéropostale searches for an airplane capable of crossing the South Atlantic without being a seaplane 06:00 Couzinet meets Jean Mermoz, the best pilot in France 07:00 The Arc-en-Ciel takes off from Le Bourget bound for South America 08:00 Fourteen hours and twenty-seven minutes later, the plane lands in Natal, Brazil 09:00 The breakdown on the return flight that almost ends in tragedy over the ocean 10:00 The The ovation at Le Bourget was the high point of Couzinet's life. 11:00 Aéropostale disappears, absorbed by Air France, and the contracts evaporate. 12:00 The ministry cancels all orders, and Air France removes its name from the aircraft. 13:00 Air France declares the Arc-en-Ciel good to burn. 14:00 All contracts canceled one after another without explanation. 15:00 Mermoz disappears over the Atlantic, and Couzinet loses his last ally. 16:00 The war destroys the prototypes, and the Arc-en-Ciel burns for the third time. 17:00 Couzinet goes into exile in Brazil with 35 people from his company. 18:00 He marries Mermoz's widow and returns to a France that rejects him. 19:00 The seaplanes that nobody needs and the factories he never recovered. 20:00 The last project: a flying saucer that the press celebrates but nobody finances. 21:00 December 16th 1956 Couzinet is 52 years old and has no hope left 10:00 PM Gilberte was with him in the apartment when he took the revolver 11:00 PM Only the swallow-inspired rudder of the Arc-en-Ciel survived Midnight The La Roche-sur-Yon airfield is named after him, but the plane no longer exists