Marcel Riffard

Edmond had moved to Argentina to build the Tacuarendí sugar mill, but while there he also introduced both the telephone and paper money to the country, and partnered with Frenchman George Brosset to establish the French Chaco Distillery.

[6] From 10 October 1907 until 28 September 1909 Riffard performed his national military service with the 38th field artillery regiment, assigned to the 7th battery detachment in Bastia, Corsica.

[3] On 2 August 1914, Riffard was recalled to active military duty with the 38th artillery regiment, and in 1916 was transferred to the Groupe Aviation du Bourget.

Riffard designed the quad-engined Leviathan XXII, and developed the engage/disengage mechanism that allowed one engine in each of the dual-engine Bréguet-Bugatti assemblies to be shut down while the other continued to drive the shared propeller.

[10] In 1926, Riffard became head of the Clichy design office of Société de Constructions Aéronautiques d'Hydravions Lioré et Olivier, a flying boat builder based in Levallois-Perret.

[18] From 1931 to 1932, Riffard worked at Omnium Métallurgique Industriel (OMI), an engine builder whose products for motorcycles and aircraft were sold under the Chaise name.

[2] It was also during his time at OMI that Riffard designed an aircraft called the MR-300 intended specifically to compete in the Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe.

[14] Riffard became Technical Director and Chief Engineer of l'Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères, at 52 rue Guynemer in Issy-les-Moulineaux on 1 March 1932.

[26] The Air Bleu service began on 10 July 1935 from Le Bourget, using Caudron Simouns to transfer mail across France.

[26][28] In December 1935 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and André Prévot piloted the Simoun C.630 with registry F-ANRY in the Paris-to-Saïgon air race.

[31] On 30 December 1936, at 7:23am, French pilot Maryse Bastié took off from Dakar in a modified Caudron Simoun C.635, registered F-ANXO, that she had christened "Jean Mermoz" for the deceased aviator.

When she landed in Natal, Brazil twelve hours and five minutes later, she set a new record for fastest crossing of the Atlantic ocean at an average speed of 264 km/h (164 mph).

Popular with private owners and flying clubs, several Aiglons were requisitioned by the French government during WWI, with some serving as liaison aircraft.

Among the racers, three different series of tandem two-seat Grand Sport aircraft were named Rafale, which means "gust" in French.

During the pre-race trials for the 1933 Coupe Deutsch de la Meurthe, pilot Ludovic Arrachart was killed when his Caudron C.360 crashed at Maisons near Chartres.

[43] Already the holder of a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) altitude record, Boucher went on to fly a variety of Riffard-designed Caudron aircraft, including the C.430, C.450 and C.530.

From 1 August 1940 to 31 May 1944, during the German occupation of France, Riffard worked with both the Bureau Secret Clandestin at Boulogne-Billancourt and the Société Rateau in La Courneuve.

[35]: 604 In the early 1960s, Riffard became a technical adviser to the Société nationale des constructions aéronautiques du sud-ouest, commonly known as Sud Aviation.

[2] Riffard was involved in the company's efforts to address deficiencies in the recently developed SNCASE SE.3200 Frelon ("Hornet") helicopter, which had not progressed past a few prototypes due to poor performance.

[63] Riffard designed a narrow, tapering dirigible-shaped fairing made of wood and celluloid that covered the rider's entire body except for his lower legs.

[64] On 9 September 1933, Berthet covered 48.6 km (30.199 mi) in one hour at the Parc des Princes, beating the standing record.

Renault hired celebrity aviator and Caudron-Renault factory pilot Hélène Boucher to promote the Viva Grand Sport.

[71] The car was based on a standard Nervasport chassis, but with a custom body designed by Riffard and made of hand-hammered metal supported by a wooden framework.

[72] The record car used the 4.8 L (293 cu in) flathead straight-8 engine from the production Nervasport, which produced 108 hp (80.5 kW), mated to a 3-speed manual transmission.

[74][72][75] The drivers selected for the run were Roger Quatresous, Léo Fromentin, André Wagner, and Georges Berthelon, who also served as garage manager.

Built on the chassis of an existing race car called the Guépard, this compact barquette had full-width "tank" style bodywork with the side profile of an airfoil cross-section.

[85] During World War II (WWII), René Panhard had flown Caudron-Renault fighters, and he contacted Riffard to design their new endurance racers.

Panhard X88 Riffard's original 1953 Le Mans barquette bodywork was wide and low, with a flat tapering tail.

At the front, the leading edges of the fenders projected forward, and during some events were capped by conspicuous forward-facing conical covers.

[4][2] In addition to his ability as a mathematician, aerodynamicist, and engineer, Riffard's personal pursuits included music, bel canto, and painting.