By René Ligon
France is in a blessed position, being home to some of the great Air Shows that continental Europe has to offer. Among them, Air Legend stood out this year with a roster that does not have to hide from many other shows on Earth, with a number of airplanes performing displays that represent the only airworthy examples of their types in Europe.
The Event at Melun Villaroche
Melun Villaroche Aerodrome, just south of Paris, is an important business and general aviation airport servicing the capital and was the site of a number of aviation firsts, as numerous prototype tests occurred here until the early 1980s, such as the first flight of the Dassault Mirage. Very well attended, visitors represented a broad cross-section of French society, encompassing all walks of life, ages, and even roughly a 50/50 split of males and females who enjoyed the show in lawn chairs and on picnic blankets, creating an almost festival-like atmosphere. The Public was allowed controlled access to the ramp before flight operations started, an opportunity gladly taken by the masses, with a lucky few even permitted a sneak peek into some aircraft and cockpits. After the displays had started, many attractions remained on the ground, too. The tasteful merchandise stands by aviation artists and major aviation-focused brands were given a twist that only the French could add to an Air Show: Among the stalls, you were able to find excellent artisan cheeses and sausages normally only found at a local farmers’ market. An ambiance of classic rock, jazz, and country music was not too overpowering and a welcome change to the usual chart-blasting screamers we have gotten used to at public events.
Noteworthy Displays
With limited access on the ground, the displays formed the undisputed heart of Air Legend. A good variety, from early biplanes to golden-era classics, many WWII warbirds, early jets, and an impressive current French Air Force and Marine Nationale lineup, put on a show that had something for every aviation enthusiast imaginable. Some of these deserve a special look:
Flying Bulls F-86 Sabre
The Flying Bulls brought out the newest addition to their fleet: The F-86 Sabre (Canadair CL-13B Sabre Mk6), one of the last built Canadian versions fitted with the most powerful engine the type saw service with. Twelve Sabres are said to still be airworthy worldwide, and F-AYSB is the only one flying in Europe, famously serving with the German Air Force during the Korean War era. Long-time pilot Frédéric Akary, a recently retired Air France captain, touchingly made a great effort to enable the younger visitors to get hands-on with the aircraft, stand on its wing and take a look in the cockpit, going out of his way to engage with them and pose for photos prior to the start of the display program.
B-17 Sally B
“Sally B” caretaker Elly Sallingboe and her crew brought the last remaining B-17 flying in Europe over to the continent from her home at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, a rare sight outside the UK, as Sally B only gets airborne a couple of times per year, mostly staying in the UK.
Traveling across the continent with a complicated 80-year-old four-engine bomber carries some degree of risk, and safety is always paramount with the crews. For this year’s program, that meant sitting out some weather so that Sally B finally arrived in the late afternoon the day before the show to great acclaim by photographers and fans. During her display flight together with a Spitfire, the spectators were treated to multiple great angles of the Flying Fortress, including fly-bys with bomb bay doors open, and a “hit” spectacle with smoke pouring out of one of the engines, celebrating the legendary toughness of the B-17.
Consolidated PBY Catalina Miss Pick Up
Europe’s only flying Catalina, the British “Miss Pick Up,” was present on what was one of her rare larger trips. Having arrived between closing time on Friday and early Saturday morning, hers was a welcome sight to visitors discovering the flying boat parked hidden behind a small wooded area. Flying her display later in the day as the sun began to mellow, crowds were given a demonstration of the retractable wing tip floats, one of the unique design features of the “Cat.”
DC-3s Gruesome & Chalair Aerobatic display
You read that correctly! Two DC-3s in what constitutes an aerobatic display for the type, challenging the expectations of what is possible with a large two-engine transport aircraft that was designed in the 1930s. A long-time favorite of the French air show circuit, F-AZOX “Chalair,” was joined by the recently restored F-HVED “Gruesome” to perform a number of figures and some close formation flying, giving an excellent opportunity to photograph the type in unusual attitudes. “Gruesome,” an Operation Giant veteran that delivered 82nd Airborne paratroopers into the Salerno beachhead, now looks pristine inside and out after a complete restoration in 2024. She had already been hopping scenic flights during the morning, where visitors were able to book a roughly 30-minute time slot in the C-53.
Classic Formation DC-3 and Beech 18s
A third DC-3, in Swiss Air livery and polished aluminum, flew in from Switzerland and brought two Beech 18s with her—the Classic Formation team. Together they performed a display of multiple close formation figures with the DC-3 in the lead. The Beech 18s are set up exactly the same, including avionics, to ensure good interoperability between the 3 examples of the type that the Classic Formation operates (one was not present at Air Legend). On the ground, the immaculately polished aircraft were a crowd favorite, too, with a number of photo ops for reenactors emerging thanks to the welcoming pilots.
Something For Everyone
From light sport aerobatic teams to the impressive Patrouille de France eight-ship formation, a sunset afterburner display of the Polish-operated Lim-5 (Mig 17, another one for the “only one flying in Europe” category), Spitfires, four Mustangs, an A-26, two Dassault Mirages, and many, many more—Air Legend delivered on the promise its name carries, bringing true air legends into the skies over Melun-Villaroche, to the benefit of everyone who made the journey, as well as the European aviation community as a whole. And the French showed up for it en masse.
