René Simon (aviator)

René Simon (8 December 1885 – 21 April 1947) 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. What has been termed "the first airplane rescue at sea by another airplane" was made on 14 August 1911. Simon had been flying over Lake Michigan in a monoplane when his plane accidentally went into the water but did not sink. Pilot Hugh Robinson in a Curtiss hydroplane spotted him and offered to fly him back to shore, but Simon, who was comfortable and smoking a cigarette, preferred to wait for a boat to come and tow both him and his plane back to dry land.

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(Captain). He and his wife often dined with high-ranking military officials.

René Simon died in Cannes on 21 April 1947.