Posted Wednesday, April 14, 2021 @ 05:41 PM  

René FOURNIER was born on April 14, 1921. Contemporary of the French aircraft manufacturers like Jean DELEMONTEZ, Pierre ROBIN, Claude PIEL and even Yves GARDAN, he is today a true living legend of post-war recreational aviation.

On April 2021, Club Fournier International had planned to organize a big party at the Château de Nitray which was to bring together some 300 friends of René, some from far away. The health restrictions related to COVID unfortunately got the better of this project. It was, therefore, surrounded by a few relatives that our hundred-year-old aircraft manufacturer, always cheerful and mischievous, celebrated his 100th birthday in his native Touraine. On this occasion, his friends from Club Fournier International presented him with a very nice portrait by the official air and space painter Yong-Man Kwon.

While he was destined for an artistic career, driven by his passion for music and crafts, René FOURNIER, as a young ceramist, had a dream of building an airplane with long, thin and pure wings. A poet's plane, designed to glide and explore the countryside.

60 years of innovation

Thus, in 1960, the RF 01 was born; the first plane in a long line. Although he did not plan to become an aircraft manufacturer, René FOURNIER then built the RF3s at Gap Tallard in the ALPAVIA workshops; followed a few years later by RF4 and RF5 produced at the SPORTAVIA plant in Germany. The RF7 single-seater aerobatic and the unique RF8 two-seater metal did not go into series production. The RF6B, an aircraft intended for teaching "real" piloting and aerobatics, remains highly sought after today and is a delight to its owners. The wooden RF9s and their cousins, the RF10s in composites, open the way for the hybrid flight characteristics of Touring Motor Gliders. Finally, René’s latest RF47 made the best of RF4 and RF7. Almost 1000 RF and derivatives have been built, and a good number of them continue to fly around the world.

Resolutely taking the opposite view of the power race of post-war recreational aviation, René FOURNIER's aircraft are characterized by a timeless pure line, great finesse and high aspect ratio wings. The concept of green aviation developed by René FOURNIER is made more relevant today than ever by meeting the objectives of sobriety, silence and low consumption. RF is the symbol of affordable, economical and environmentally friendly aviation.

About CFI: Club Fournier International is an association that was created in 1989. Its goal is to establish and develop friendly links between people with an interest in FOURNIER aircraft. It brings together the pilots and users of these planes from different countries. Its main activities cover the organization of trips and meetings and the publication its magazine "Fly For Fun". Today it has branches in many countries and on all continents.
You will find more information on the CFI website and in René FOURNIER's fascinating autobiography “Mon rêve et mes combats”- translated in English as "My Dream and My Aeroplanes" available from the author via www.club-fournier.org

Press contact: Hervé FELLMANN President of CFI hfellmann@free.fr
Pictures :  CFI