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La Ferté Alais 2024 |
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Part 1 |
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Text: |
Urs Schnyder |
Pictures: |
Urs Schnyder &
Michael E. Fader |
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(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
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The
weather forecast for this years meeting was not very promising with rain
predicted for both days. We decided to try and get there early on Friday to
have a look at the rehearsals. This proved to be a sound decision as the
weather was stable the whole day and almost the whole program was rehearsed.
Some of the pictures in this report were therefore taken on Friday. However,
the weather on the weekend was not as bad as predicted. Besides a few
raindrops in between, there was only one short shower on Saturday.
Despite the bad weather
forecast, 30’000 people visited the airshow. |
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Paramotor patrol |
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The
51st meeting "Le temps de helice" surprised with a completely new start into the program.
Instead of the Jodel and Cri-Cri of past meetings, there were a great number
of motorized paragliders that took to the air and formed up into giant
stacks normally seen at parachutists displays. The flyers carry a sizeable
backpack with the engine and all the petrol. They are only separated from
the whirling propeller at their back by a thin net. |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
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The Pioneers |
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While
the Caudron G3 managed to display on both public days, the Morane H and
the Bleriot only managed an outing on Friday. One of the problems on the
weekend was the crosswind which was probably too strong. The Bleriot
taxied out to the end of the runway on Saturday but didn’t take to the
air. |
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(Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
Caudron G3,
F-AZMB (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Caudron G3,
F-AZMB (Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
Caudron G3,
F-AZMB (Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
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The time of aces |
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The
first air combats in World War 1 were represented by two Fokker Dr.1 and
two Se5a fighters. Both of course were the mounts of famous aces from
their countries. All four machines are replicas with modern engines. For
that reason they can be flown more or less without having to consider
engine life as is the case when flying original aircraft.
It is however a pity that
none of the other planes from that area were in the air but could only
be seen in the static park. To flesh out the display a bit and provide a
sense of a crowded sky three Bücker Jungmann and three Stampe were used
to simulate formations in action. |
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Sophwith 1 1/2
Strutter F-AZNM (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Bristol F2B
Fighter F-AZBF (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Morane Saulnier
MS-138 F-AZAJ (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Bücker Jungmann (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
RAF SE-5a F-AZCY (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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RAF SE-5a F-AZCN (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
RAF SE-5A F-AZCN (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Fokker DR.1 F-AYDR (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Bücker Jungmann
F-PBSF(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Stampe SV-4
F-BXCD (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Team Raven |
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After
their first showing at La Ferté last year, the Team Raven from England
crossed the Channel again this year to display at the meeting.The team
of six is composed of Raven 1 (G-MAXV) – Simon ‘Sid’ Shirley, Raven 2 (G-VFDS)
– Peter Wells, Raven 3 (G-EGRV) – Barry Gwynnett, Raven 4 (G-CIBM)
– Gerald Williams, Raven 5 (G-SOUT) – Russ Eatwell and Raven 6 (G-CISM )
– Mark Southern. They fly the Van's Aircraft RV-8 and RV-4. The
Team was formed in 2014 and all members had prior display experience. |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Mauboussin 125 |
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The
Mauboussin M.120 was a trainer and touring aircraft built in France in the
1930s and again in the years following World War II. The M.125 was a version
with Régnier 4Jo engine. Altogether only 5 were built.This was the first
time we have seen this aircraft displayed at La Ferté. |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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F/A-18 Solo Display |
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Modern
Jets from other countries armed forces are quite rare at La Ferté. This
year they managed to get the F-18 Display from the Swiss Air Force, with
Hauptmann Marcel "Frodo" Rust flying the aircraft. |
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(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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Lysander |
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The
Westland Lysander (G-CCOM) was originally developed as an Army
cooperation aircraft. With strong fighter opposition this role became
obsolete and it found a new lease of life with the special operations
executive in bringing and fetching secret agents into occupied countries.
Because of its nature these missions were not generally known to the
public. It needed special skills and determination to fly at night into
unknown territory and land there on a strip of land marked by the local
resistance. There was always the possibility that the enemy was waiting
for them or the ground was unsuitable to land on. However, the Lysander
with its short take off capability was the ideal machine for these
missions. |
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(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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80 Years D-Day |
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This
year is of course the 80th anniversary of the allied landings in the
Normandie which started the liberation of France and the rest of Europe.
The ubiquitous Douglas C-47 B Skytrain which played such an important
role in the landings was flying in formation with two Spitfire and a
P-47 Thunderbolt. Appropriately most decked out in distinctive Markings,
more commonly known as invasion stripes. The Stripes on the Spitfire Fr
XIV E even appeared to have been applied by brush, as indeed they were
on most aircraft at that time. The exception was Spitfire Mk XIX in its
far east scheme. Again, it was remarkable how well the white stripes
showed against a cloudy sky, thereby proving their effectiveness. |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Douglas C-47 B
Skytrain F-AZOX (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Douglas C-47 B
Skytrain F-AZOX (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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Douglas C-47 B
Skytrain F-AZOX (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
Republic
P-47D Thunderbolt G-THUN (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Republic
P-47D Thunderbolt G-THUN (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
Republic
P-47D Thunderbolt G-THUN (Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
Republic
P-47D Thunderbolt G-THUN (Picture courtesy
Michael E. Fader) |
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Republic
P-47D Thunderbolt G-THUN (Picture courtesy
Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Supermarine
Spitfire FR.XIVe G-SXIV (Picture courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Supermarine
Spitfire FR.XIVe G-SXIV (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
Supermarine
Spitfire FR.XIVe G-SXIV (Picture courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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Supermarine
Spitfire FR.XIVe G-SXIV (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
Supermarine Sptifire PR MK XIX F-AZJS (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Supermarine Sptifire PR MK XIX F-AZJS (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Supermarine Sptifire PR MK XIX F-AZJS (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Supermarine Sptifire PR MK XIX F-AZJS
(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
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Stalins Falcons |
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Founded
by Marina Raskova, the 588th Night Bomber Regiment became the first all
female unit in the Soviet Air Force. They flew the obsolete Polikarpov
Po-2 in night harassment missions over German occupied Territory. The
Germans called them the Night Witches. Later they also flew fighter
planes and several German pilots reported encountering them in combat.
However, the Yakovlev Yak-3
fighter is mostly associated in France with the Free French unit of
Normandie Niemen, a title given to them by Stalin. After the war they
were permitted to take their Yaks back to France. One of which has
survived in the Museum in Le Bourguet. |
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Polikarpov
Po-2 F-AZDB (Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
Polikarpov
Po-2 F-AZDB (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Polikarpov
Po-2 F-AZDB (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Polikarpov
Po-2 F-AZDB (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Polikarpov
Po-2 F-AZDB (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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Yakovlev Yak-3
UA F-AZLY (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Yakovlev Yak-3
UA F-AZLY (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Yakovlev Yak-3
UA F-AZLY (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Yakovlev Yak-3
UA F-AZLY (Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
Yakovlev Yak-3
UA F-AZLY (Picture
courtesy Michael E. Fader) |
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Reenactors |
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There
were many more reenactors this years than in previous years. They marched
along the crowdline grouped into themes like Germans, US or british
Military. |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
(Picture
courtesy Urs Schnyder) |
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In 14 days, the second part
of the report of the 51st edition of "Le temps de helice" will be
published in La Ferté-Ailais. |
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