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Le Bourget

The Paris Air Show allows traders, exhibitors and non-professional aeronautical enthusiasts to see and display a variety of aircraft and components spanning more than 50,000 square meters of runway and indoor exhibition space. The week long exhibition at Le Bourget, a small town just outside of Paris, offers the exhibitors a chance to display their aviation wares and offers the US military a chance to promote standardization and interoperability of equipment with NATO allies and other potential coalition partners.

Capitol Hill intersected with the flightline June 11 when government officials from Washington arrived in Paris to wish pilots, maintainers and other aircrew well before the 46th Paris Air Show 2005, which rans June 13-19. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Ark., chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee, met with officer and enlisted members of Army, Navy and Air Force active duty and Reserves to personally thank them for their efforts in the bi-annual event, as well as to get a first-hand look at the new technology to be showcased at Le Bourget Exposition Park during the week.

Stevens, who arrived with a congressional delegation of U.S. employers, described the Department of Defense's UH-60 helicopter, F-16 fighter jet, C-17 and KC-130J cargo plane displays as "awesome." He also expressed enthusiasm for the United States' prominence in aviation. Five exhibition halls containing millions of dollars in aircraft and thousands of spectators are expected during the week, said Air Force Lt. Col. Patricia Cloud, chief of Air Force affairs overseas, U.S. Embassy in Paris.

Eight U.S. aircraft were scheduled for static display at the show and three were scheduled for demonstration flights. U.S. military members who participate in the air show provided aircrew, maintenance and administrative support services. In addition to about 125 support people, equipment from bases in Europe and the United States were at the event. On May 21, 1927 American pilot Charles A. Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, successfully completing the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight and the first ever nonstop flight between New York to Paris. His single-engine monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, had lifted off from Roosevelt Field in New York 33 1/2 hours before.