LATÉCOÈRE

The Latécoère Foundation keeps alive the memory of aviation pioneers. It is linked to Pierre-Georges Latécoère, who created airmail and the intercontinental airlines linking France with Africa and South America. Those airlines became l'Aéropostale and then Air France.

Pierre-Georges Latécoère started the aviation industry in Toulouse. The site says he produced 80 types of planes and seaplanes and won 32 world records.

The foundation runs L'Envol des Pionniers, a museum on the historic Latécoère factory site in Montaudran, Toulouse. The museum tells the story of the Latécoère Aéropostale airlines and their pioneers.

Projects include a reconstruction of a flying Latécoère 28 by the Cercle des Machines Volantes in Compiègne. There is also a static Latécoère 28 under construction at Montaudran. The Raid Latécoère-Aéropostale is a historical air raid on the airlines' old routes, and it supports cultural and solidarity projects.

The foundation gives the Latécoère Explorer Prize, awarded by a committee of eight explorers. It also gives the Pierre-Georges Latécoère Prize to an aviation project that reflects the foundation's values.

Other projects include the Hydraviation Museum at Biscarrosse, the Rallye Toulouse Saint-Louis air rally created in 1983, and the Mermoz Challenge. The challenge aims to build a hydrogen-powered drone that can cross the South Atlantic without emitting CO2.

The site lists news, art works, a flight simulator model of the Latécoère 631, and an association for pioneers' families. Contact is through a contact page and social media on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.