”Lionel-Vincent “Frenchie” Mougel is a French pilot, engineer, and aviation entrepreneur with over 10,000 flight hours across military jets, vintage warbirds, general aviation, and wide-body commercial aircraft. Born into a lineage of aviators, with a father in the French Navy and multiple family members as Air Force officers and pilots, Lionel’s connection to aviation began early. He started building RC aircraft at the age of 8, and by 12 was designing his own models, with some of his plans still freely shared online today.

He took to the skies in gliders at 14, soloed at 15, but had to wait to obtain his license at the minimum legal age of 16. After earning his private license, he progressed through aerobatics and vintage aircraft before enrolling in the French Air Force, where he trained and flew the Epsilon, Alpha Jet, and Mirage 2000 B, C, and N.

At just 20, Lionel acquired his first aircraft, a Ukrainian Yak-52, marking the beginning of a lifelong dedication to owning, restoring, and flying unique machines. After leaving his military service, he flew UN contract missions across Africa, later moving to Germany as both pilot and operations manager for a corporate airline, flying Citations (CJ series). He then relocated to the UK to fly the Boeing 737, while continuing to fly Yak-52s, Yak-50s, and Antonov An-2s across the British Isles.

With growing international airline experience, Lionel transitioned to the Boeing 787 as part of the second batch of pilot trained on the, at the time, brand new plane, moving to Bangkok where he began racing aircraft and flying seaplanes and warbirds in the United States and Southeast Asia. He then acquired and raced the Formula 1 aircraft “Madness,” later known as Hysteria Race 22, at Reno Air Races in 2017 and 2018. His collection expanded then to include a 1946 Cessna 140. Not decided to sit while in Thailand, he began conceptualizing how to revive seaplane operations in Thailand, later gathering partners to create a seaplane airline, first since the previous ban that was enforced in the country, single handling the elaborations of operation manuals, SOP and procedures, still used as a template now.

When the COVID-19 pandemic grounded commercial aviation, Lio returned to design, founding LS Aerospace Inc. in the U.S. with long-time friend, Tota Ueno. Together, they began developing long-endurance UAVs for missions ranging from remote logistics to surveillance and environmental support, while steadily acquiring and restoring aircraft for their collection.

Now flying as a Boeing 747 captain for a global cargo carrier, Lio continues to add to their fleet, including a modified Pitts S1E, Fouga Magister, CASA HA-200 Saeta, Glasair, and a fully operational Antonov An-2 with more aircraft in their mind to come. After having crossed the U.S. multiple times in any aircraft type, Lio is now preparing for a transatlantic ferry flight in the An-2, from high and fast, to low and slow … in the biggest single engine biplane over the Atlantic.

Despite living in Bangkok and flying across continents on a monthly basis, Lio remains hands-on with every aircraft he finds, revives, and returns to the skies, always alongside a trusted team of mechanics he mostly know since his teenage times. His work bridges aviation heritage and future innovation, with a deep commitment to preserving flight, both in spirit and in practice.’”