HÉLÈNE DUTRIEU—AVIATRIX AND MORE

I FIRST LEARNED ABOUT HÉLÈNE DUTRIEU from my Minute Epics of Flight, a book that begins with ancient Babylon and Etana’s flight on the back of an eagle and brings things up to date, given its 1933 publication date. 

Minute Epics of Flight: A Pictorial History of Man’s Conquest of the Air, by Lumen Winter and Glenn Degner, Grossett & Dunlap, 1933.

Here are tidbits about Hélène Dutrieu gleaned from this book, as well as from Wikipedia and other sources. Indeed, her achievements in aviation were only part of the tale. 

Hélène Dutrieu, 1877–1961, Belgian cycling world champion, stunt driver, pioneer pilot, wartime ambulance driver, and director of a military hospital. Image by George Grantham Bain from Wikipedia.

Cycling Success. The daughter of a Belgian Army officer, Hélène left school at the age of 14 to earn a living, and what a living it was. Her older brother Eugène was a professional cyclist, and she began by following suit with the Simpson Lever Chain cycle racing team. 

Wikipedia notes, “In 1893 she gained the women’s world record for distance cycled in one hour. In 1896 and 1897 she won the women’s speed track cycling world championship.” In November 1896 she won the Course de 12 Jours in the Royal Aquarium, London, and in August 1898 she won the Grand Prix d’Europe. Leopold II of Belgium awarded Dutrieu the Cross of St André with diamonds in honour of her cycling success. She later became a motorcycle and automobile racer.

Hélène demonstrates her cycle’s Dunlop tires, c. 1896. Note its Simpson Lever Chain. Image by Charles Barenne from Wikipedia.

Stuntwoman. Wikipedia also notes that Hélène “began performing in variety shows as a cycling speciality act and in July 1903 she cycled a loop inside a vertical track at the Eldorado in Marseille, France. She also invented her own stunt, ‘La Flèche Humaine’ (‘The Human Arrow’), which was a c. 15 m jump with a bicycle.” 

Hélène later moved to motorcycle and car stunts. Alas, after a bad crash in 1904, she spent eight months recovering her health.

Acting Career. Both before and after her recovery, Hélène had a modest stage career at the Déjazet theatre, Théâtre des Capucines, Théâtre des Mathurins, Porte Saint-Martin and Théâtre Michel.

Not Only Earthbound. Wikipedia describe that Hélène “learned to fly a Santos-Dumont Demoiselle monoplane in early 1910. On 19 April 1910 she reputedly became the first female pilot to fly with a passenger. On 25 November 1910 Dutrieu became the fourth woman in the world, and the first Belgian woman, licensed as an aeroplane pilot, receiving Aéro-Club de Belgique (Aero Club of Belgium) licence #27.” Indeed, Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft 1913 identifies her as such.

Hélène in her aeroplane, c. 1911. Image by Bain News Service from Wikipedia. 

A Stylish Flight Suit. Chronicle of Aviation recounts as a December 22, 1911, posting, “Hélène Dutrieu of Belgium, a magnificent pilot sometimes known as the ‘Girl Hawk’ of aviation, who, last May, beat all male opposition to win the Italian Coppa del Re [King’s Cup] in Florence, has aroused comment because she is known to prefer flying without the support of her corsets, which she says are too confining.” 

Belgian flyer Hélène Dutrieu. Image from Chronicle of Aviation.

You go, grrl. Onward and upward. ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2023