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Old 12th Jul 2004, 22:25
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uy707
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Saint-Cloud west of Paris
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Curiously Presidents were pretty late comers in flying
First in France, I guess was Vincent Auriol, in office during the late forties/early fifties. Aircraft was a chartered Air France L.749.
But first to introduce a presidential and gov vip-hauler was Charles De Gaulle in 1963 when the government took up a Caravelle. In 1966 then came a first DC.8-F54 for long range missions. Until then De Gaulle called on an AF L1649A Starliner and then a Boeing 707. During wartime as head of the free french, De Gaulle alrerady used a wide variety of aircrafts including a Bloch 120, a Dewoitine 338, captured from the Vichy namesakes, but more permanent was a Lockheed L.18 Lodestar.
Alain
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