104 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE JULY 2018Events
A
ll sorts of superlatives
could be conjured to
describe this year’s
edition of ‘Les Temps
des Hélices’ (The Age of the
Propeller), the annual La
Ferté-Alais Meeting. None of
them somehow seem
adequate. You really had to be
there to witness it, the
Aérodrome de Cerny bathed
in sunshine for the entire
Pentecôte holiday weekend,
and seeing one of its fi nest
ever shows.
Always atmospheric, forever
enjoyable, La Ferté put on an
event of exceptional quality.
Nearly six hours of fl ying on
each day ran virtually without
fault, the choreography andpresentation of the multi-
aircraft set-pieces as
outstanding as ever it’s been.
The pacing of the programme
was near perfect, its range of
contrasts practically unrivalled
in Europe, and the spectacle it
created one that will live long
in the memory.
At its centrepiece, the
post-restoration debut of
F4U-5NL Corsair F-AZEG from
the Salis family’s Casques de
Cuir collection was everything
one could have hoped for.
Baptiste Salis fl ew it in a
powerful solo, and then joined
up for one of the best
Aéronautique Navale
formations La Ferté has seen,
leading in four of Flottille 12F’sRafale Ms, a Falcon 10MER
and Armor Aéro Passion’s
MS760 Paris. The modern
‘omni-role’ fi ghters were fl own
with a passion often lacking in
contemporary combat jet
displays, not that one could
accuse Cne Sébastien Nativel,
the Armée de l’Air’s new Rafale
C solo display pilot, of coming
up short in that regard. He too
joined Baptiste in the Cerny
skies, but Salis’ mount this time
was the Memorial Flight’s
exquisite SPAD XIII, the loose
but remarkable pair bringing
together French fi ghters 100
years apart. There will be few
fi ner aerial salutes to the
centenary of the end of World
War One.Still the unusual formations
kept coming. The show’s other
fast jet singleton, the Swiss Air
Force F/A-18C Hornet, tucked
in behind Daniel Koblet in the
F+W D-3801 for a couple of
very attractive fl ybys from
these Alpine air defenders past
and present. With no angle of
attack restrictions to constrain
him thanks to the latest fl ight
control software, Hornet pilot
Capt Nicolas Rossier put on a
performance to equal, or even
better, the Rafale’s. His fl at
spin-esque ‘pirouettes’ set a
new standard for a non-thrust-
vectoring fi ghter.
The heavyweight combine
was simply fabulous, the
Dakota sur la Normandie
association’s C-47B Skytrain
and the marvellous Albert-
based MD311 and MD312
Flamant pair heading the Swiss
Classic Formation’s gleaming
DC-3 and three Beech 18s
through multiple passes. As
they formed up, commentator
Bernard Chabbert’s sumptuous
Lockheed 12A showed itself
again to be the epitome of
elegance, fl own with style by
the owner’s son Antoine and
daughter-in-law Aurélie, airline
pilots both. Once the
formation elements had
fi nished, an Armée de l’Air
Transall C-160R treated us to a
tactical demonstration, landing
on and taking off from the
grass strip. Cne Jocelin
Bertrand from Escadron de
Transport 3/61 ‘Poitou’ at
Evreux showed spirited
handling of the veteran airlifter,
its fi nish wonderfully
weathered after years of hard
active service.
The British end was kept up
very well. After a chilly cross-
Channel transit, a fi ve-strong
replica contingent from the
Bremont Great War Display
Team — Sopwith Triplane, two
Fokker DrIs, SE5a and Junkers
CLI — provided the most
engaging action of the First
World War commemoration,19-20
MAYMeeting Aérien de la Ferté-Alais
The Aéronavale
formation: Baptiste
Salis in the F4U-5NL
Corsair leading current
Rafale Ms — one with
70th anniversary tail
markings for Flottille
12F — and Falcon
10MER, and historic
Paris. BEN DUNNELL104-105_AM_EVENTS_July18_cc C.indd 104 04/06/2018 07:19