French Classics

French Classics

La Ferté-Alais, Paris Museum, and More!

A long weekend of aviation photography with real variety!  One of Europe’s great aviation museums, a rare collection visit, then two full days at La Ferté-Alais, which is all atmosphere and classic aircraft flown the way they should be.

We meet in Paris and start the shoot at Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace at Le Bourget. It’s a world-class aviation museum on a historic airfield.

Le Bourget’s Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace is one of the finest and rarest collections in the world - you will be standing in a place that genuinely belongs to the story of flight. What really sets it apart is the prototype side of the collection, with a superb run of rare French experimental and test aircraft that you simply do not see anywhere else (from the strange, ambitious Leduc 010 and SO 6000 Triton to the Mirage III V and even Concorde 001). It gives the museum a different feel to most aviation collections because it is not just about famous finished aircraft, but about the bold ideas, dead ends and technical leaps that pushed aviation forward.

Friday is very special indeed, with an amazing visit to the exciting Musée CANOPEE at Châteaudun.

This is a collection most people won’t have on their normal ‘Paris aviation’ list, with preserved aircraft and unusual airframes that are as nostalgic as they are photogenic. Musée CANOPEE at Châteaudun feels less like a conventional museum and more like a preserved piece of French military aviation history left where it belongs, on the former air base itself! The collection is built around aircraft that all wore the roundel of the French Air Force. That gives the place a grounded, operational feel, as though you are walking through the working history of the Armée de l’Air itself.

Then the weekend is La Ferté-Alais (Le Temps des Hélices). If you’ve never been, it’s the show people talk about for good reason: classic types, tight flying, and an atmosphere that feels more like a gathering than a stadium event.

La Ferté-Alais is not just an airshow, it is one of those rare aviation events that still feels rooted in the real culture of flying. Held on the grass airfield at Cerny, and built around the work of the Amicale Jean-Baptiste Salis, it is known for putting large numbers of historic aircraft into the air in a setting that feels more lived-in and atmospheric than polished or corporate. What makes it special is the way it presents aviation as a flowing story, with themed flying displays that move from pioneers and warbirds through to later military types, all backed up by the static aircraft, vehicles, re-enactors and general texture on the ground. It feels less like a modern airshow and more like stepping into a full-scale celebration of aviation heritage that still has noise, smell, personality and soul.

Two days at the show gives you options to relax and explore as well as shoot all the great action. It’s also the sort of show that’s easy to put on the “I’ll do that one day” list because it’s “so close to Paris”. This trip is the reason you finally do it.

At a glance

• Dates: Thursday 21 May to Monday 25 May

• Where: Paris, Châteaudun and La Ferté-Alais

• Focus: Rare museums & collections first, then two full airshow days

• For: Aviation photographers who want strong subjects, strong variety, and a weekend that’s built around shooting rare machines and having a great time doing so!