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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2013 20:09:21 GMT
I was unfortunately mistaken when I thought that my invitation to the Paris Air Show was for the last private day. It was actually the first public day, after 4 private days. Anyway, it started off with an Air France-KLM conference in the auditorium of the aerospace museum, which I must absolutely return to visit. It was a small price to pay for free entry to the air show, and the free breakfast was not bad at all. As for the conference, I have to admit that I nodded off a few times when the CFO of AF-KLM was detailing some of the cost cutting measures. Anyway, they released us exactly on schedule at 11am, and we walked out of the back door of the museum directly into the air show zone.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2013 20:17:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2013 20:39:06 GMT
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Post by mossie on Jun 22, 2013 5:30:45 GMT
Thanks Kerouac. Some really heavy metal there, but the best thing you showed us was the vintage Air France Dakota flying. The blue props on the big Antonov are really pretty, must have been a lady designer also the multi coloured ones later So you didn't buy us an airliner, not even a little one ??
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2013 5:42:45 GMT
Before anything flew, Safran & Honeywell wanted to show off their new electric taxiing system.... *yawn* Actually, the announcer was quite good at explaining the importance of it, particularly for B737s and A320s. These small planes usually make about 8 flights a day, meaning that they have to taxi 16 times, burning kerosene the whole time. Since jet engines were never designed to roll planes over the tarmac, this is super inefficient and even more so because the planes have to use their brakes at the same time because the jet engines are too powerful... bla bla bla... The main thing to know is that this obviously is an enormous source of pollution, besides burning up the money we spent on our tickets... So the demonstration plane maneuvered all over the runway, turned around and paraded back while wearing its engine caps to prove that the jet engines were not involved.
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Post by mich64 on Jun 22, 2013 12:44:16 GMT
I too would have loved to attend this Air Show. Enjoyed viewing all of the static displays and the planes in flight. What a diverse display of aircraft that included so many applications. Also, wonderful to have the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur in your photos. I can not imagine any Airport having such a beautiful skyline Growing up on Air Force Bases, hearing the roar of aircraft engines is a comforting sound to me. Not the usual stuff childhood memories are made of, but they are mine.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 22, 2013 13:12:34 GMT
I knew mossie would be drooling over this; mich, I didn't know you were an "Air Force brat". Cold Lake?
But what ghastly weather in Paris. It is cloudy and damp here today, but nothing like those black clouds. I didn't realise Le Bourget was so close to Paris either.
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Post by mossie on Jun 22, 2013 15:41:59 GMT
Thanks also for now showing the Mustang and the Russian Antonov biplane, which was called in Russia the Annushka or Annie. This monster could carry up to 12 passengers and was used for all sorts of general transport work and sport parachuting. Some were put on skis for the winter, or floats for the lakes in Siberia, even used as ambulances. Anything that could be crammed into it was fair game
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2013 16:00:34 GMT
The announcer explained that they always have three possible programmes -- good weather, intermediate conditions and bad weather. Today they performed their bad weather routine for some reason. I know that one of the most spectacular things that they do in good weather is to make a grouped vertical climb and then separate like fireworks. None of that today...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2013 16:41:40 GMT
This was not the only viewing area, but I would estimate today's crowd at maybe about 30,000. Of course it was a work day, and the final weekend is when the public from all over Europe rushes to this show. Actually, the two most common languages I heard on this particular day were American and Russian. Le Bourget continues to be the busiest airport for business planes in Europe and it is one of the last pieces of aviation history that is still intact. I just took one little picture when I arrived in the morning inside the aerospace museum -- which is housed in the old terminal -- and it really makes one dream about the "golden age" of aviation. The reason I only took one picture is because I will devote a full report to it as soon as I have a chance to go back. Anyway, the most amazing moment in the history of Le Bourget was of course the arrival of Charles Lindbergh from New York. He was unaware that he had created a 'buzz' long before the invention of Twitter or Facebook and was not expecting to see anybody upon arrival. He apparently had a little piece of paper folded in his jacket with the name of a hotel on it if he was lucky enough to find a taxi. Anyway, he arrived on May 21, 1927 at 10:22 p.m. and there was a crowd of 200,000 people waiting for him. Parisians dearly love to celebrate an event, and there was nothing on television that night, so they probably picnicked all day, drank a lot of wine and had a great time waiting. It was a Saturday, which helped, but still! When I was observing the puny crowd of 30,000 at the airshow, I can't even imagine how that day in 1927 went.
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Post by htmb on Jun 22, 2013 16:52:54 GMT
Fantastic photos and narrative, Kerouac. Too bad the weather was so dark and cloudy, but it appears you were able to still see a lot.
Standing near Lindberg's airplane, where it's on display in Washington, DC, I find it hard to imagine he flew it all the way to Paris. It's not much bigger than my car. I had wondered where he landed.
200,000 people. Amazing!
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Post by bjd on Jun 22, 2013 17:11:35 GMT
I remember flying out of Le Bourget in either 1976 or 1977 with some now defunct charter airline.
I remember is that we sat on the runway for quite a while, it was hot and an announcement came on -- "While you are fanning yourselves with those safety information papers, take a look at them."
Coming into New York City, the pilot came on to make a few jokes about sharks in the ocean below us and pool sharks and loan sharks in NYC. That wouldn't happen nowadays!
And the plane was late, I missed the connection to Toronto and had to sit up at the airport all night. They had closed off the luggage lockers because of a bomb scare. Oddly, I don't remember which airport it was in New York.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2013 20:58:38 GMT
I took a number of flights out of Le Bourget myself way back when. The last scheduled flight was in 1979, but more than 70 companies use Le Bourget as a base for their non-scheduled operations.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2013 4:00:12 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2013 4:05:51 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Jun 23, 2013 5:01:54 GMT
Impressive. Both the subject and the report.
I was crazy about planes--mostly the sleek and menacing military fighter jets--when I was young, and still find the tech fascinating even though I no longer can find any glory in the wars they are used in.
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Post by mossie on Jun 23, 2013 8:22:16 GMT
Air shows are for the trade and enthusiasts who want toe see and breathe in the fumes. The actual pavilions are a complete waste of time for the normal person, but vital for the trade as it is where customers are entertained and generally schmoozed and beguiled into signing contracts. Where are the pictures you took while sitting in the cockpit of that super fighter
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Post by htmb on Jun 23, 2013 9:32:30 GMT
Excellent photos, Kerouac. Is the airshow held at the same location every year? I've always seen signs, but never paid much attention.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2013 9:54:37 GMT
The Le Bourget air show, which is the oldest and largest in the world is held on odd-numbered years. The companion air show held on the even years is the Farnborough, UK, air show. Le Bourget gets 400,000 visitors and Farnborough gets 200,000 visitors. Apparently, Farnborough closes the trade pavilions on the days when the general public is admitted.
However, the biggest "air festival" is the Bournemouth, UK, annual air festival, which is free and which therefore gets a crowd of 1,300,000 every August.
Naturally, there are a number of other air shows for serious shoppers throughout the Middle East and Asia and of course in North America.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2013 18:21:37 GMT
The evening news said that 115 billion euros worth of contracts were signed for aircraft purchases during the air show. (That's US$150 billion.) These sorts of amount are meaningless to me. Airbus came out ahead, but not much ahead of Boeing, and then there's Bombardier, Embraer, ATR, Antonov, etc...
Attendance figures won't be released until tomorrow, but they are expected to be lower than usual because of the awful weather.
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Post by nautiker on Jul 5, 2013 22:21:53 GMT
I’m a late-starter on this thread, yet it has prompted some questions/remarks:
-I wonder whether there would have been a deduction for the A380, given it was held together by tape?
-‘Black Hawk – Modern Legend’ – make sure you do your warfare ‘in style’?
-I really wish those widgets on display will be unearthed by archaeologists in 2.000 years time, will give them plenty to think about…
-Just curious: What was the price tag of that GE engine?
-I would have thought that nowadays, if you’re an airline and want to spend a couple of 100m on new planes, you book flights to Toulouse and Seattle then make up your mind – why is there still such an enormous turnover at fairs? Tradition?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2013 4:35:11 GMT
One stop shopping!
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Post by mossie on Jul 6, 2013 7:36:34 GMT
Correct Kerouac. Also, because it is Paris, every big manufacturer, right down to the producer of the smallest widgets, says to their clients. "How about a night at the Moulin Rouge, bring your dragon and we'll take her round the Golden Triangle and dinner at le Tour Argent" That is a sure fire sales pitch.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2013 16:16:42 GMT
It's true that if Paris remains the #1 convention and trade show city in the world, there is sort of a reason for that.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2015 22:04:14 GMT
So, here we are in 2015 and I went to this year's edition. Same old stuff, of course, since in spite of what they try to claim, things do not change all that much in two years. I have condensed this year's visit into a video, but it's not quite ready yet... stay tuned.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 3:38:55 GMT
Here is the video:
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Post by mossie on Jun 20, 2015 7:16:46 GMT
Thanks for that Kerouac. It always makes me shudder when I see take offs like the A380, straight up in a steep climb into a split-arse turn. A recipe for disaster unless the pilot really knows what he is doing.
Also showing us the old A10 Warthog with that tremendous 7 barrell 30mm gun. The dstructive power of that is enormous
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Post by onlyMark on Jun 20, 2015 10:27:07 GMT
On the east coast, can't remember exactly where (somewhere around Skegness?) there used to be a bombing range. Two or three times during my police driver training we used to drive over to it to have our packed lunch. We'd sit and watch those A10's destroying the crap out of all the targets. It was quite strange to see the quick puffs of smoke coming from the gun and a few seconds later hearing the sound of the Gods rubbing the teeth of two wood saws together. Amazing stuff.
I read a BBC report recently saying the vertical take-off of that A380 wasn't as dangerous as it looked due to all the spare power it had as it was empty. One thing for sure, I wouldn't want to be in it, just in case.
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Post by htmb on Jun 20, 2015 17:08:40 GMT
Nice video, Kerouac. Looks like you really captured the spirit of the event.
I saw one of those huge planes from the Eurostar just north of Paris. I appeared to be abnormally large and looked completely surreal.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 20, 2015 17:34:45 GMT
I read a BBC report recently saying the vertical take-off of that A380 wasn't as dangerous as it looked due to all the spare power it had as it was empty. One thing for sure, I wouldn't want to be in it, just in case. I must admit that watching the A380 and the A350 doing some extreme maneuvers, I imagined at the same time the trouser-shitting of potential passengers if they were to be on board during such things. For professional reasons, this sort of thing has become a standard in my library of nightmares, so if I am ever on a plane that does just things, it will just be a feeling of déjà vu. However, in my flight nightmares it almost always occurs during landing, when inappropriate hills or trees become fatal obstacles or, more rarely, suburban buildings. Only once did I fly directly into a high rise, WTC style, and I even saw a fireball rushing across the cabin in my direction before the dream ended abruptly (to say the least). It is amazing that I still accept to get on a plane.
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