On February 23, 1912, the French pilot Maurice Tabuteau was facing the breaking of a new speed record in the air.
Piloting a monoplane plane from the Morane-Saulnier workshops, equipped with a Gnome engine, capable of providing 50 horsepower, the aviator covered a distance of 227.454 kilometers in two hours.
In terms of speed, progress is remarkable for that period. The day before, on February 22, 1912, Jules Védrines had caused a sensation: with his Deperdussin monoplane, also powered by a 140-horsepower Gnome engine, he had covered 50 km in 19min and 3s, 100 km in 37min and 58s and 150 km in 56min and 41s.