Find out about the challenges of the aviation pioneers of yesterday and today with the new temporary exhibition dedicated to Pierre Georges Latécoère, initiator of the great history of aviation in Toulouse.
More than a century after the construction of the first aviation factory in Toulouse, in the Montaudran district, Pierre Georges Latécoère returns to the location of his industrial site, on the very site of L’Envol des Pionniers. Through sets and reconstructions, the exhibition reveals the career of Pierre Georges Latécoère and shares with you his experience as a visionary entrepreneur of the 1920s.
What if this experience could help us shed light on and meet today’s aeronautical challenges? Through an interactive and fun journey, “follow” the wise advice of Pierre Georges Latécoère in order to imagine the aircraft of tomorrow and how to put it to good use… And also discover what the Toulouse pioneers of today, faithful heirs of Pierre Georges Latécoère, are imagining… The future has wings!
FIND OUT ABOUT THE CHALLENGES AVIATION PIONEER PIERRE GEORGES LATÉCOÈRE OVERCAME
Explore the new exhibition on the aeronautical entrepreneur and creator of La Ligne: Pierre Georges Latécoère.
Through an immersive scenography, dive into the atmosphere of the workshops of the interwar period and follow the career of this visionary who laid the foundations of Toulouse as one of the world capitals of aeronautics on the historic site of L’Envol des Pionniers.
The exhibition “Pierre Georges Latécoère, The Future Has Wings” retraces the career of this pioneer who, when no-one wanted to believe him, managed to achieve the impossible: creating air routes connecting people to each other across several continents, beyond deserts, oceans and mountains.
- From Toulouse to Barcelona on December 25, 1918,
- then from Toulouse to Rabat in Morocco the following year,
- continuing through Dakar to Senegal (1925)
- and from Buenos Aires to Brazil (1929)
Pierre Georges Latécoère succeeded in founding a true international aeronautical organisation in a few years.
Through many historic objects and original mediation devices, meet this man who transformed the aviation industry and the future of Toulouse. Through loans from the Latécoère Foundation and the Biscarrosse Musée de l’Hydraviation, find out about iconic aircraft such as the Laté 28, the Laté 300 or the Laté 521 seaplane.
A BIT OF HISTORY…
It all started in 1917, in the midst of the First World War. Pierre Georges Latécoère, then business manager of a wagon manufacturing company, responded to the request of the French government and set up in Toulouse, in the Montaudran district (on the current site of L’Envol des Pionniers), the very first aeronautical construction company in the region. In just six months, having never manufactured planes, he achieved the feat of delivering up to six aircraft a day to the French army.
Pierre Georges Latécoère, The Visionary
Anticipating the end of the war, Pierre Georges Latécoère re-focused his company and decided to convert his military planes into civilian planes and hire unemployed pilots from the First World War. From now on, the distribution of mail would no longer be carried out only by train or boat but also by air… Thus, on December 25, 1918, accompanied by the pilot René Cornemont, the entrepreneur took off from the airfield of Toulouse- Montaudran to Barcelona. This was the very first reconnaissance flight of Lignes Aériennes Latécoère.
IMAGINE THE AIRCRAFT OF THE FUTURE WITH TODAY’S AVIATION PIONEERS
Throughout the exhibition, take part in a challenge on the aviation of tomorrow. Familiarise yourself with the new environmental challenges to aviation through an interactive tour and the presentation of the current experiences of Toulouse entrepreneurs pioneering in their field who are working to decarbonise aviation
YOUR AIRCRAFT OF THE FUTURE: AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE
Thus, while drawing inspiration from the pioneering values of Pierre Georges Latécoère, children and adults alike can imagine a sustainable aircraft or drone. To do this, you will have to form a team, define what energy you want to use (hydrogen, electricity, etc.), explore its impact on the design of the aircraft and define routes to consume less or reduce your carbon footprint…
Finish your visit “with” Pierre Georges Latécoère who, thanks to an original facility, will speak directly to you to interpret the choices you made during the challenge. The right time to recall the values of a pioneer: audacity, courage, perseverance, rigour…
INSPIRED AND INSPIRING EXAMPLES OF TODAY’S NEW PIONEERS
The exhibition offers a space dedicated to today’s Toulouse entrepreneurs, committed to continuing the legacy left by Pierre Georges Latécoère. Pioneers in their sector of activity, they have dared to go beyond technological limits to design clean aircraft and solutions for the aviation of tomorrow.
You can thus discover five partner companies of the Toulouse Pioneers Collective (Aura Aero, Delair , Latécoère, OpenAirlines , H3Dynamics), engaged in the decarbonisation of the aviation sector around iconic projects such as the Delair company’s Hydrone or the electric plane ERA by the start -up Aura Aero.
This exhibition was produced with the participation of the Latécoère Foundation, the Biscarrosse Musée de l’Hydraviation and the LATE 28 Association.
This exhibition is supported by: Toulouse Pioneers, Aura Aero, Delair , H3Dynamics, Latécoère, Open Airlines, MGEN and Banque Populaire Occitane.
In partnership with France Bleu Occitanie and France 3 Occitanie.
