On Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September, the first edition of a major airshow in the Paris region, Air Legend, took place on the Melun Villaroche aerodrome.
These two days were devoted to mythical planes that participated in the great conflicts of the twentieth century, the ‘Warbirds’. Fighters from the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War followed one another in the sky to offer us a show filled with history. From the Battle of Britain with Spitfires, Hurricanes and Bf-109 to the Battle of the Pacific with Corsair, Avengers, T-6 and the very rare Boomerang! Even the Eastern Front was represented by the powerful Soviet Yak.
More modern aircraft were also exposed thanks to the French Navy, which deployed four Rafale M. These fighters embarked on a training flight with a M.S. 760 Paris and two
D.H. 100 Vampire worthy of the best American “Heritage Flight”. The Air Force was also present with the Alpha-Jet Solo Display and the Patrouille de France. The latter closed the day of Saturday and made a passage Sunday before going to Kleine Brogel where took place the Belgian Air Force Days.
The airplanes presented performing demonstrations in flight were also visible on the ground, with the exception of the Rafale, parked in the car park plane visitable the morning only. This set was impressive for a first edition. The demonstrations followed and despite a few missed absences, F-86 Sabre, OV-10 Bronco, H-75 …, the parking and the sky were well filled and this first edition a magnificent success!
Let’s hope now that this air festival will become permanent and become an annual meeting of Warbirds and aeronautics enthusiasts like the meeting of the Ferté-Alais. See you next year for the 2019 Air Legend!