The Paris Air Show 2013

Today I marked something off my bucket list that I didn't even know was on it.  We went to the 50th International Paris Air Show.  It was the first and still is the most prestigious in the world.  It is held every two years.
We left the apartment about 9 am this morning, took 95 to Gare Montparnasse, got on the #4 line to Chatelet and then changed to the RER to Le Bourget (the airport where Charles Lindbergh landed in 1927).  The crowd wasn't bad until we got on the RER.  When we arrived at the Le Bourget train station they had shuttle buses to transport us to the air field.  We qued up and the line was so long I thought I was at Disneyland.  The crowds grew and grew by the thousands.

When we got to the field we qued to get through security.

Once in, we got a map of the layout and began to check things out.  There was everything you can imagine about and for airplanes, helicopters, drones and any other flying machines.  We saw tiny parts, giant parts, every part you could think of and some you've never thought of for an airplane.

Our friend Michele works for Eurocopter and got us our tickets.  We checked out their display of helicopters in one of the pavillions and also the actual aircraft on display outside.

Unmanned aircraft (Drones) seem to be everywhere.  There must be a big future for them in surveillance work.

There was every kind of aircraft both commercial and military.

We bought a sandwich and found a place to sit and watch the beginning of the air show.  The weather was getting dicey and the wind was blowing harder.   We headed for the shuttle bus as the rain started falling harder.  We noticed the throngs of people still filing in, but we were glad to be on our way back home.
Tom promised to fix hamburgers and pomme frites for dinner.