Air Legend 2021, Paris-Villaroche

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Adam
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Air Legend 2021, Paris-Villaroche

Post by Adam » Fri Sep 10, 2021 8:53 am

A superb line up for Air Legend this weekend and I'm looking forward to sharing some images as the show goes on. The running order for the flying display is:

TRIBUTE TO JM SAGET
x4 Cap-10 & x2 Cap-21

AERONAVALE THROUGH THE AGES
x2 Rafale M & x2 Corsair
Breguet Atlantique II
**Falcon 10 TBC**

LAST DOGFIGHT
Piper Cub & Fiesler Storch

TRANSPORT THROUGH THE AGES
A400M & DC-3

EQUIPE DE VOLTIGE
Extra 330

BATTLE OF FRANCE
Morane 406

PATROUILLE GUSTO DELTA
x2 Mirage 2000C

YAK & BOOMERANG
Yak-3U & CA-13 Boomerang

ULTIMATE FIGHTERS AEROBATIC TEAM
TF-51D Mustang, HA1112 Buchon, Spitfire Mk.V & P-47D Thunderbolt

PEARL HARBOR
Catalina
N3N & PT-17 Stearman
Beech 18
x8 T-6 Harvard
x2 P-40 Warhawk

BLACKSHEEP SQUADRON
Stinson L-5
B-25 Mitchell
x3 Corsair
x2 T-6 Harvard

PACIFIC THEATRE
TBM Avenger, **CA-13 Boomerang & FM-2 Wildcat TBC**

SPARTAN EXECUTIVE

CLASSIC FORMATION TEAM
x3 C-45 Expeditor & x1 DC-3

RAFALE SOLO DISPLAY
Rafale C

HO CHI MINH
x2 Skyraider
x3 T-28 Trojan

KOREAN WAR
F-86 Sabre **& P-51D Mustang TBC**

NORMANDIE-NIEMEN
Yak-11 & Yak-3U

BATTLE OF BRITAIN
x2 Spitfire

LE PETIT PRINCE
Patrouille de France (x8 Alpha Jet) & P-38 Lightning

The show will run from 1pm until 6pm daily.
Last edited by Adam on Fri Sep 10, 2021 4:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Adam » Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:07 pm

What a show! Air Legend is quite special, up there with the best. This is going to take me several posts. But let's start with the military.

All air arms should look to the French to see how to do airshows properly. This year, the French Air & Space Force has five (yes, five!) two-ship tactical demonstration teams. Gusto Delta, with two Mirage 2000Cs, are new for 2021 and there was a definate Couteau Delta flavour to them.
AS1.1 Gusto.gif
AS1.1 Gusto.gif (3.77 MiB) Viewed 2582 times
The Air & Space Force also brought us the Rafale Solo Display. Apart from one photo pass and one high alpha pass, not a second goes by when the aircraft isn't either pitching, rolling or yawing. Things that other teams consider a maneouvre in its own right, like a hesitation roll, is just eye candy for RSD - a small part of a complex mini-sequence, or an ornamental little extra to throw into every single turn or reposition, to make sure the jet is always doing something interesting. The display is so full-on that it had to be pre-commentated on: even though the team has a dedicated commentator, only one sentence was uttered once the display got underway, such was the relentlessness of the afterburner. It's a fast jet solo demo so good that it doesn't just make all the others look boring, it makes them look silly for trying.
AS1.2 Rafale.gif
AS1.2 Rafale.gif (8.94 MiB) Viewed 2582 times
Then there was the A400M. Opening in formation with a DC-3, the A400M then burst into a dynamic solo display of epic quality, with some extraordinary bank angles at very low altitude.
AS1.3 A400M.gif
AS1.3 A400M.gif (9.68 MiB) Viewed 2582 times
The French Navy contributed a lovely sequence, starting with a formation of two Rafale Marines and two Corsairs, flowing into a two-ship Rafale M tactical demonstration. Starting with formation passes, the jets then performed a fantastic sequence with one flying low-speed passes and the other flying at high speed, crossing at show centre each time. This then evolved into a tailchase. Following this, a Breguet Atlantique made a rare airshow appearance with a few flybys of its own.
AS1.4 Marine.gif
AS1.4 Marine.gif (5.54 MiB) Viewed 2582 times
The Patrouille de France (PAF) closed out the day. If you saw them on their 2017 US tour: don't judge them on the lackluster multi-regulator-pleasing routine they staged that year, it was not the team at their best. It's been a while since I've seen them and I was seriously impressed. I've seen the Red Arrows a lot this year, and perhaps familiarity breeds contempt, but I thought the PAF were a lot slicker, classier and more original, with shorter pauses in the display and some very sophisticated, imaginative manoeuvres that filled the sky brilliantly well.
AS1.5 PAF.gif
AS1.5 PAF.gif (5.6 MiB) Viewed 2582 times
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Post by Adam » Sun Sep 12, 2021 7:45 pm

Part 2 - the big set pieces. There were several of these but I'll single out four. The first was a tribute to the Blacksheep Squadron, which featured an explosive B-25 display from the Flying Bulls followed by a three-ship of Corsairs dogfighting with two Zeros. Two of the Corsairs then performed a lyrical formation aerobatic routine.
AS2.2 B-25.gif
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AS 2.1 Corsair Zero.gif
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Another big set piece was Pearl Harbor. Following a Catalina solo display, eight T-6 Harvards playing the part of Zeros ran in for a series of attack runs, later to be chased away by a P-40. This then morphed into a ten minute P-40 solo aerobatic routine.
AS2.3 Tora.gif
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There was a very pleasing Vietnam War set piece also. This featured three T-28s and a Skyraider, with two Trojans flying in formation with that Skyraider. The Skyraider then commenced an absolutely immense solo aerobatic routine, with a lot of very impressive energy-on-crowd manoeuvres including loops and barrel rolls, with vortices streaming from the wingtips. Two T-28s then concluded the slot with formation aerobatics.
AS2.4 Avenger.gif
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We had some fun dogfight scenarios through the day, including a Storch and Cub, and a Boomerang and Yak-3. I'm not quite sure what inspired the latter of the two (everything else in the programme was based on real historical events. The commentary was in French only and I did my best, but I didn't understand the purpose of this). It was good fun though, and nice to see a rarity like the Boomerang looking great in the sun.
AS2.5 Boomer.gif
AS2.5 Boomer.gif (7.54 MiB) Viewed 2579 times
Last edited by Adam on Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Adam » Sun Sep 12, 2021 8:15 pm

Final part, focussing on the assorted other performances throughout the weekend. I can't fail to mention the brilliant Ultimate Fighters, flying a P-47, TF-51, Spitfire and Buchon in a lyrical sequence of four-ship formation aerobatics, followed by a bomb burst, opposing passes, tailchasing and more.
AS 3.1 Ultimate Fighters.gif
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AS3.2 Ultimate Fighters.gif
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Classic Formation was a real highlight of the weekend. It was like a mad FSX multiplayer session, but in real life. Three C-45s and one DC-3 with some snappy formation changes, bomb bursts and opposing passes.
AS3.3 Classic Formation.gif
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The Flying Bulls' P-38 solo was an absolute masterclass and I can't fail to mention that. It got the best of the late afternoon sun, as well. There's a balance to be struck between photo passes and high-energy aerobatics and the Flying Bulls always nail it.
AS3.4 P-38.gif
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And finally, something a bit different: the Equipe de Voltige (EVAA). Like any regular airshow attendee I've seen a lot of solo displays by Extra 330s and the like, but this one was in another league. EVAA, the competition aerobatics wing of the French Air Force, absolutely dominates the World Aerobatic Championships and EVAA pilots have won in the unlimited category in 4 out of the last 6 contests. In the last 7 years, the French have been the overall winning team on all but one occasion. It's not hard to see why. The gyroscopic manoeuvres were amazing, but I particularly loved the abrupt negative-G pushes past the crowd.
AS3.5 EVAA.gif
AS3.5 EVAA.gif (8.55 MiB) Viewed 2575 times
And that's it! There was an awful lot more at the show, all of it very accomplished, but it's just far too much to mention. If you're in two minds about attending, don't be. Get this event on your airshow bucket list immediately.
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Post by Adam » Tue Sep 14, 2021 8:55 pm

Overall highlights compilation:
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