Sadi-Lecointe was born on 11 July 1891 at
Saint-Germain-sur-Bresle. He learned to fly at the Zenith school at
Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1910 and was
awarded French Aero Club license No. 431 on 3 May 1911. Before formally qualifying, he had taken
Georges Clemenceau for a short flight. During the First World War he saw active service with Escadrille BL.10 and later, flying Nieuport scouts, with
Escadrille MS.48. He became a flying instructor in 1916 and in September 1917 he became a test pilot with Bleriot-SPAD, working on the development of the
SPAD XIII. After the war he became a test pilot for Nieuport-Delage, flying their aircraft in a number of races and also using them to set seven speed and three altitude records. He was the winner of the 1920
Gordon Bennett race, securing permanent possession of the trophy for the
Aero Club de France and was to fly the French entry for the 1921
Schneider Trophy at Venice, but had to withdraw after an accident during practice. Between 1925 and 1927 he returned to military service as a volunteer, taking part in the
Rif War in
Morocco, afterwards returning to his job as chief test pilot with Nieuport Delage. In 1936 he was appointed Inspector General of Aviation by the French Air Ministry. Mobilised at the outbreak of the Second World War, he became the Inspector of Flying Schools. His political sympathies did not allow him to serve under the
Vichy government after the fall of France in 1940, and instead he was active in the
French Resistance. On 21 March 1944 he was arrested by the
Gestapo and held in
Fresnes prison. Released after two months, he died on 15 July 1944 as a result of being tortured while in prison. ==Records==