Roger Béteille facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Roger Béteille
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Béteille in 1985
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| Born | 28 August 1921 |
| Died | 14 June 2019 (aged 97) |
| Education | École Polytechnique Supaéro |
| Occupation | Aeronautical engineer, businessman |
| Years active | 1952–1984 |
| Known for | Contributions towards Airbus |
| Spouse(s) | Josette Jasmin |
| Awards | Ludwig Prandtl Ring (1986) |
Roger Béteille (born August 28, 1921 – died June 14, 2019) was a French engineer and businessman. He is known as one of the main people who helped start and build the famous airplane company, Airbus. His work was very important for Airbus to become successful.
Béteille also worked with several big airlines. These included Air France, Lufthansa, United, TWA, and American Airlines.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Roger Béteille was born in Vors, a small town in Aveyron, France. He was a very smart student.
After finishing his studies at École Polytechnique, a top French engineering school, he chose to specialize in weapons and defense. He continued his education at Supaéro, which is a famous school for aerospace engineering. He also studied at the Centre des hautes études de l'armement (CHEAr).
Career at Sud-Aviation
In 1952, Béteille joined a company called Sud-Aviation in Toulouse, France. This was where he started his important work in aviation.
He held many important jobs there. From 1952 to 1957, he was in charge of flight testing new aircraft. Later, from 1957 to 1967, he led the division that worked on rockets and satellites.
Béteille also became the deputy technical director. He was the manager for the A300 program, which was a very big project. He also played a key role in earlier aircraft projects like the "Armagnac" and "Caravelle" planes.
Building Airbus
Roger Béteille was one of the most important people in creating the European Airbus company. He helped bring together different European countries to build airplanes.
He spent a lot of time talking to airlines like Air France and Lufthansa. He also visited American airlines such as United, TWA, and American Airlines. He wanted to understand exactly what they needed in new aircraft.
Béteille made some very important decisions for Airbus. He decided that English should be the main language used for work. He also decided that measurements should not be metric. This was because most airlines already had American-built planes, which used different measurements.
Many people believe that the early success of Airbus was thanks to Béteille. His nickname was Mister Airbus because he was so important.
He came up with the "Airbus fuselage" design. This is the main body of the plane, which was 222 inches wide. This special design allowed the plane to carry two LD-3 freight containers, making it very good for cargo. He also helped set up how different partners in Airbus would share the work.
To move large parts of the aircraft, Béteille bought Super Guppy transport planes. These huge planes carried pieces of the aircraft to the final assembly point in Toulouse. He worked as the company's chief operating officer for a long time. He is seen as one of the founding fathers of Airbus, along with Henri Ziegler and Felix Kracht.
In 1983, he became a founding member of the French Académie de l'air et de l'espace (AAE). This is a special academy for people in aviation and space. He retired from Airbus in March 1984.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1986, Roger Béteille received the Ludwig Prandtl Ring. This is a very respected award from the German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics.
To honor his contributions, the building where the Airbus A350 is put together in Toulouse is named after him. This shows how important he was to the company.
Béteille was married to an opera singer named Josette Jasmin. They lived in Cannes and in the beautiful Midi region of France.
Roger Béteille passed away on June 14, 2019, at the age of 97.
Images for kids
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Béteille in 1985
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Béteille in 1972
