Once more into the breach ! Few aviation journals can really count back to when they first covered the biennial Salon International de l’Aeronautique et de l’Espace at that historical and hallowed airfield, Le Bourget, on the outskirts of Paris. Vayu certainly can ! Editors from the journal have been covering the event soon after the journal’s very foundation, beginning with the Show in 1975. In its issue of August 1975, Vayu’s aviation journalist HP Mama made an in depth analytical study of the perceptible trends that emerged at the thirty-first International Air and Space Show (although now no longer with Vayu, the irrepressible HP Mama is still writing with passion !).
But back to 1975: At this premier event, the supersonic Concorde airliner continued its triumphant progress towards entry into service and was unabashedly ‘Star of the Show’, alongside the military (then General Dynamics) F-16. Even as the Concorde has since flown into the pages of history, the F-16 (now part of Lockheed Martin) soldiers on and was subject of an industrial agreement at Paris 2017 with the Tata Group signing their intent to produce this classic (if dated) fighter should the Indian Government select it as their choice of a ‘single engined fighter’.
Concorde of Air France in spectacular take off
In 1975, there were 180 types of aircraft then on display at Le Bourget, ranging from the ultra-light Rallye and Robin series to the Concorde and Tu-144 supersonic commercial airliners. In 1975, the Indian Air Force’s DPSA requirement was underway and the types under consideration are revisited, as recorded by Vayu with two of the three contenders being displayed at Paris that year.
The first prototype of General Dynamic’s F-16 was brilliantly displayed at Paris 1975
Brilliant flying by professional pilots demonstrated both their skills and the performance of their aircraft. Naturally the most spectacular were the military mounts and it was unanimous opinion that the hit of the Show was General Dynamic’s first prototype F-16 (01567) flown by Neil Anderson. The F-16’s 300 kt. 7g halfmile diameter turn inside Le Bourget’s boundaries and its general fly-by-wire control system manoeuvrability and climb power were very evident of a new generation of fighter technology. The freshly painted Mirage F.1E flown by Guy Mitaux-Maurouard was a smart performer while the third “also-ran” was SAAB’s Viggen, with Captain Anders Lefvert in the cockpit. In the event none of these types were to wear IAF colours, the trophy going to the Anglo-French Sepecat Jaguar which was also on static display at Paris 1975. But that is another story.
Two seat version of the Saab J-37 Viggen at Paris
Over the next decades, Air Shows have actually become the occasion to announce mega orders, the two fiercely contending Companies being Airbus and Boeing. 40 years on, at the Paris Air Show 2015, for instance, Airbus took the honours although Boeing signed more deals for wide-body airliners. The final tally had both ‘rivals’ notching over $ 107 billion in orders and commitments, 421 aircraft and 331 aircraft respectively (the statistics of sales in 2017 are given in the main story of this Issue).
Sepecat Jaguar two seater at the Show
However, in 1975, there was wider competition with Lockheed’s TriStar still very much in the running, with four versions competing again Boeing and Airbus. The former introduced the Jumbo freighter version of its Boeing 747 which lorded over the others at the static display. Smaller airliners were also present, a pleasant surprise being reemergence of the BAC One-Eleven, a new version with CFM 56 high by-pass ratio turbofans. There was of course much talk about the “decade of the derivatives” indicated by Boeing and McDonnell Douglas displaying their Boeing 7x7 and DC-x-200 respectively, the target being replacement of the 707/DC-8s, in a market estimated at 1500 number.
Dassault Mirage F.1 displayed with armament at Le Bourget
Down the scale and selling at a steady, if unspectacular rate, was the Fokker-VFW F.28 Fellowship which at one time was considered by Indian Airlines to replace its HS 748s and F.27s. The competition (not taken much seriously), was the Yakovlev Yak-42 trijet whose arrival at Le Bourget was bit of a surprise. This type too was offered to India but not taken forward as was the Canadian entry in form of the de Havilland Canada Dash 7, with four-turboprop engines. But this too was not destined to operate in India!
In rounding up, the 1975 Paris Air Show revealed the growing Israeli innovative genius bringing their Westwind 1124 light jet as also the remarkable little Arava light logistic transport aircraft. In this category was the BN Islander (which was already in service with the Indian Navy then but was an early casualty when the Indian Government launched its light transport aircraft – LTA – requirement and the honours went to Dornier of Germany). That really changed the scenario in India and has been reviewed in various Issues of the Vayu for several decades thereafter.