La Ferté Alais 2023

By Richard Bryant

I had read the “Fête Aérienne Le Temps Des Helices” is one of the go to events on the airshow calendar. The show name translates to “Air Festival The Time of the Propellers”. This event takes place annually during the Pentecost weekend around the end of May. 

Having never been I decided this was the year to see this show for myself. It was their 50th anniversary too.

We travelled by ferry from Dover to Calais and found accommodation near La Ferte Alais via Booking.com. Our Hôtel L’ile Du Saussay in Ballancourt-sur-Essonne, was chosen for being close to the airfield and with a railway station half mile away with links to Paris. A self service continental breakfast was also available. Next door was a restaurant with a superb outside area where you could see the aircraft rehearsing in the distance on Thursday and Friday evenings.

The supermarket outside the airfield was 10 mins away. Entrance to the airfield was just past the nearby supermarket. On the Thursday we left the supermarket as a pair of Griffin engined Spitfires flew low over us as we crossed the carpark. Welcome to La Ferte Alais. 

On Friday we travelled by train to Paris for a day of culture. We could hear the aircraft rehearsing as we walked to the station. They were still rehearsing when we arrived back after 8pm!

La Forte Alais is a grass airfield and sits on top of a hill. Yes a hill. The runway was close. The taxiway closer still. Trees provide a nice background. And the sun was behind us. Perfect!

On Saturday and Sunday we left the hotel just after 7:30am. With a short drive we were settled on the flight line around 8am with plenty of others. 

The pleasure flying kicked off around 9am each day. Multiple Stearman, a Harvard, Pitts Special and Travel Air 4000 aircraft alongside three helicopters were busy offering flights all morning. These aircraft were again busy after the air display and still going strong even when we left the car park at 8pm!

The airshow had plenty of stalls offering aviation related items for sale. Far more aviation related stalls than I am used to seeing at Duxford or RIAT these days. What caught my attention was seeing the line of squadron gazebos already open and selling patches and t-shirts when we arrived. These same squadrons stalls were still open and selling past 7pm each day!  

There was sufficient food and drink vendors around the site, all were reasonably priced. We enjoyed freshly made baguettes and the Gustave beer.

Access to view the aircraft was from 9am. All the aircraft on the airfield were accessible to view and in some cases see inside. Alongside these airframes were plenty of re-enactors too.

The Airshow itself began with a tribute to Bernard Chabbert. Before Parachutists from the Armed de L’Air kicked off the show in style jumping from the back of the OV-10 Bronco. An aircraft I had not seen used as a jump ship before.

What followed was five and half hours of continuous flying displays. Multiple aircraft types, from the 1909 Bleriot XI up to the modern Rafale, thrilling the crowd. There were a few airframes I had seen in the UK before at Flying Legends but many I had not seen before. It was the different setting, airframes and flying which made this such a memorable event for me.

The French military provided tremendous support to the show with their fast jets, helicopters and the Patrouille de France celebrating their 70th anniversary.  The Marine Nationale Rafale M role demo included an air to air refuelling pass. The Army de L’air solo Rafale C used the landscape to hide their approach until the last moment and then blasting above the airfield. The PDF were popular and included writing the number 70 in the sky with their smoke. The Belgium Air Force were also big supporters with their Dream Viper F16 display with flares and their Red Devils display team. One modern star for me was the latest Luftwaffe C130J Hercules, which made several passes including a missed approach.

Of the many vintage types the Vought Corsair NP-22, in the colours of Composite Squadron VC-3, nicknamed Blue Nemesis, caught my eye. This squadron provided night fighter detachments aboard the aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet during the Korean War.

Other highlights were the Griffin powered Spitfires with the Chalair Dakota, the mass launch of Harvards for the ToraToraTora set piece and the big iron Skyraider. That said all the flying stood out and many acts included war movie soundtracks to accompany them adding to the atmosphere.

As we left the airfield on Sunday evening I reflected on a wonderful weekend. Fête Aérienne Le Temps Des helices had been magnifique from start to finish. It had exceeded my hopes and expectations. Viva La France.