Raoul Badin, Aviation Engineer (1879-1963, Year of Entry: 1900)

Pilot and Polytechnician Raoul Badin helped construct the first seaplane in 1910, alongside engineer and aviator Henri Fabre. He was also a member of the first graduating class of the French institution of aeronautical studies, Supaéro. But he is best known for inventing, in 1911, the airspeed indicator that bears his name. The "badin", which measures the speed of an aircraft in relation to the surrounding air and enables controlled flying in zero visibility, has been mandatory on board civil transport aircraft since 1923. Raoul was part of the Resistance during the German Occupation, before resuming his work in 1945. His products have since been used on a great number of aircraft, including the Caravelle jet, the pinnacle of French civil aviation.