Horizons sans fin

Horizons sans fin movie poster.

Movie (1953)
Russian title : Бесконечные горизонты
German title : Hélène Boucher: Ein Fliegerleben
English title : Endless Horizons

Starring:
Giselle Pascal (Hélène Boucher alias Léno)
Jean Chevrier (André Danet)
Paul Frankeur (Soupape)
Marie-France Planeze (Geneviève Gaudin)

Biopic of young French woman Hélène Boucher who died in 1934 at 26 after having set all-comers world speed records.

de Havilland DH100 Vampire Mk 5

NL-F was carried by two airframes :

• a British-built one, VZ211 of EC 1/2 (Escadron de Chasse 1/2 Cigognes / Fighter Squadron 1/2 Cigognes -british : Stork-) from October 1951 to March 1953;
  
• less likely but not impossible, it could be (SNCASE-built) de Havilland DH100 Vampire Mk 5 c/n 10109 of EC 3/2 (between April and August 1952 (!) and later on July and August 1953 ... but then too late for the movie as the release date was on April 1953).

Aéroport de Paris-Orly

Douglas ... What type ?

Lockheed Constellation in the foreground.

Two Douglas DC-6s and Lockheed Constellation.

Douglas C-54A-DC Skymaster

Reg. F-BELD Douglas C-54A-DC Skymaster c/n 10372 of Air France.
Same aircraft in other movies at Frequently Seen Aircraft (Civil Fixed-Wing).

Douglas DC-6

Reg. N6519C Douglas DC-6 Liberty Bell of PAA-Pan American World Airways.

Various Douglas Four-engined Airplane

Due to unreadable registration, several unidentified Douglas (DC-4 or C-54), all of Air France.
Screenshots of this section have already been seen in Au grand balcon.

Reg. F-B...

Boeing 377-10-26S Super Stratocruiser

Boeing 377-10-26S Super Stratocruiser of PAA-Pan American World Airways.

SNCASE SE.2010 Armagnac

Reg. F-WAVA the prototype SNCASE SE.2010 Armagnac lost on take-off of its 103rd flight (30 June 1950). Seen here on Spring 1950 with Air France colors (company's name is not applied as ARMAGNAC is still painted on the fuselage).
Same aircraft in other movies at Frequently Seen Aircraft (Civil Fixed-Wing).

De Havilland DH106 Comet 1A

Airliner of BOAC-British Overseas Airways Corporation.

Gloster GA.5 F/4.48 (Javelin prototype)

Reg. WD808 Gloster GA.5 F/4.48, prototype of the Javelin which crashed on 11 June 1953. The pilot, Peter Lawrence, delayed his ejection too long in order to ensure that the aircraft would avoid crashing onto the school cricket pitches and killing lots of boys. Sadly his parachute was unable to open in time.
Same aircraft in other works at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft (Military Fixed-Wing).

Seen taking off during the September 1952 Farnborough Airshow.

Avro 698

Reg. VX770, the ill-fated prototype of the Avro Vulcan (on 20 September 1958, VX770 crashed at RAF Syerston, killing the entire aircrew and three people on the ground).
Same aircraft in other works at IMPDb: Frequently Seen Aircraft (Military Fixed-Wing).

Vickers Valiant

Dassault Mystère IV

Supermarine 528 Swift

One second footage of the Supermarine Swift making snap roll.

Dassault MD 450-30 L (11th Ouragan prototype)

1952-1956 : single-seat MD 450-30 L intended for night fighting but quickly abandonned for the two-seat MD 453 Mystère III N, which itself never entered production. This is the unique Ouragan with air intakes on the sides of the fuselage quickly relegated to servitude tasks.

De Havilland DH110

Blériot XI (model)

Antoinette (model)

Characteristic wing of Antoinette II or VII. On the real aircraft, Antoinette was smaller and written on the very front, near the propeller.

Voisin Farman I (model)

Adam RA-15 'Major'

Only four Adam RA-15 'Major' built (the first in 1947, one in 1948 and the last two in 1949 as RA. 15-1 with a Continental engine in place of the Régnier 4D3). This Régnier powered one is disguised under the F-AEET registration (actually attached to a pre-war Nieuport Nie-80 biplane). We see a P underwing and so it could be F-PEET ?

registration F-P... is unmistakable !

Caudron Luciole

Reg. F-ABDM applied on a Caudron Luciole desk model (actually for a Nieuport Nie-80).

Hangars de l'Aérodrome d'Enghien Moisselles (Enghien Moisselles Airfield), AOCI code: LFFE.

First flight of Hélène Boucher.

(background) Reg. F-(A?)MMI Caudron C-272 Luciole ?

Reg. F-ALUR Caudron Luciole (built as C.273 later modified to C.276 then C.277).
In the background, the hangar of Enghien-Moisselles airfield (IATA: none; ICAO: LFFE. Some data on the discussion tab.) -acting as the Guyancourt airfield, historical home base of the Caudron society- with some airplane and one glider, all unidentified.

Tail of F-ALUR showing the type : C.273R.

Unidentified Aircraft

Reg. F-ACBJ not found among the French registry.

1 : maybe a Caudron Luciole;
2 : ? ;
3 : desk model of one Caudron Racer.

Bloch MB.200

Caudron C.282/9 Phalène

Reg. F-AMMP Caudron C.282/8 Phalène c/n 6813.21. The cockpit image shows the typical position of this line of aircraft, with the joystick fixed to the ceiling.

De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth

Hélène Boucher made her first flight aboard a De Havilland DH. 60 Gipsy Moth.
On the ground, the editor filmed a Caudron Luciole (see above) but once in the air, Léno is in the rear seat of a De Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth.

The typical shape of the Tiger Moth's tail.

Westland Lysander

Cover of L'Illustration, issue 4889 (14 november 1936). Anachronistic as Hélène died on 30 November 1934.

Really anachronistic as Léno is still milliner employee (1930).

Breguet 19

Stampe SV4

Reg. F-B... Nearly 800 Stampe-Vertongen SV.4 have been registered by French authorities !

Unidentified Aircraft

Aeronca Sedan ?

Fictional Caudron Aircraft

As no more Caudron racer existed, the movie crew used a modified Caudron (Aiglon ?).
Another hypothesis : a Caudron C.690 ? The airframe's shape (but the tail) is close. It's doubtful one airframe survived to World War 2.
So what ? Le Musée Air et Espace du Bourget (Air & Space Museum, Paris-Le Bourget, France) got an aircraft very close to this setting (only seen on the ground; read bottom) but its story is unclear (read the discussion tab).
This setting is first seen under construction ... with already (!) the diagonal stripe used to celebrate records (moreover : at the wrong place !).
So, here is what the screenplay name the Caudron C.360 :

Thanks to the IMCDB community to identified the Thompson Bros Aircraft Fueller TB P505 (on the right), slighty anachronistic as the design dated back to 1935.

Now acting as C.450 :

Morane-Saulnier MS.315

Reg. F-ACBU could be F-BCBU Morane-Saulnier M.S. 315 c/n 6569.315.

Morane-Saulnier MS.138-Ep2

Only seen in the background, dismantled.

Morane-Saulnier MS.230

Reg. F-BGJS Morane-Saulnier MS.230 c/n 1075 used in place of the genuine black and blue Morane-Saulnier MS.233 (F-AJML c/n 54) flown by Hélène Boucher during her exhibitions at airshows.

Salmson D7.T2 Cricri Major

Reg. F-AFNC (really F-BFNC) Salmson D7.T2 Cricri Major c/n 5 built in 1949.
Acting for the low-wing Mauboussin 120 used by Hélène Boucher to set a new women's world altitude record at 5,900 m on 2 August 1933.

First, was glimpsed among the memory pictures taken when Hélène Boucher got her wings.

At 46'50, nearly half an hour before we really see Léno (Giselle Pascal) in the right cockpit !

Caudron C.450 Rafale

Archive footage of Hélène Boucher (or Maurice Arnoux) taking off at the controls of the Caudron C.450 Rafale.
The airplane quickly became an advertising medium, bearing a list of its victories and records. The absence of any inscription on the cowling indicates one of the first flights or the start of the very first race in which the airframe c/n 6910 took part.
Same footage at other IMPDb page at Frequently Seen Aircraft (Civil Fixed-Wing).

Wind tunnel model seen 50 minutes earlier.

Caudron Aiglon

Caudron Aiglon acting the racer during the world speed attempt ... and success.

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See also

• Horizons sans fin at IMDb
• Horizons sans fin at French Wikipedia
• Horizons sans fin at IMCDb