Gerard Joyeuse

Hervé Leprince-Ringuet and Gérard Joyeuse flew the Falcon 50's maiden flight. It was powered by three Garrett TFE 731-3 jet engines, and flew out of Bordeaux-Mérignac on November 7, 1976.

In December 1976, the company's authorities decided to revamp the prototype, fitting improved wings. Its first flight with the new wings took place on May 6, 1977, out of Istres, again at the hands of Hervé Leprince-Ringuet and Gérard Joyeuse. The plane proved hopes invested in the wing design to be well-founded. The Falcon 50 became the world's first civil aircraft featuring supercritical wings, and secured certification on February 27, 1979.

The prototype of the Mercure 100 made its maiden flight from Mérignac (Gironde, France) on 28th May 1971 with a crew including Jean Coureau, chief pilot, Jérôme Résal, pilot, and Gérard Joyeuse, test engineer