Édouard Surcouf

[citation needed] The following year, 1880, he started as an apprentice at the "Grands Ateliers Aérostatiques du Champ-de-Mars", the biggest aeronautic manufacturer at the end of the 19th century.

[2] With Gabriel Yon he published a reference work, Aérostats et aérostation militaire à l'Exposition universelle de 1889 (éditions Bernard et Cie., Paris, 1889).

[2] In 1889 he became the successor to his godfather (see Urania, a balloon made by the Ateliers Surcouf, Crystal Palace 1889) [n 1] This new company would be a pioneer in the introduction of rubberised fabric for the construction of envelopes of dirigibles.

New dirigibles appeared: Frédéric Airault, technical director of Compagnie générale transaérienne (later Air France), was associated with Astra from 1909.

From 1911 Surcouf collaborated with the Spanish engineer Leonardo Torres Quevedo on a new non-rigid dirigible in the Issy-les-Moulineaux works.

On 18/19 September 1911 Surcouf piloted the Adjutant Reau (Astra XI) on a record-breaking non-stop round flight of 850 km from Paris (Issy-les-Moulineaux) - Chalons - Verdun - Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle) -Epinal - Versoul - Troyes -Paris.