The Paris Air Show and the Snecma Group companies have a long history in common Projects were born there, contracts were won, partnerships were concluded during the show and for almost a century, the Snecma engines and equipment were aboard planes and helicopters that flew over thousands of spectators. Here are a few dates of the key main events.

1909: Snecma, or rather its originating companies (Gnome, Hispano-Suiza, Bugatti, Voisin, de Dietrich, Renault...), are present right from the very first Air Show, organized at the Grand Palais, in the center of Paris. The star of the show is the Blériot XI, which has just flown across the English Channel, but also the Gnome Omega rotary engine, produced from 1909 and displayed for the first time.

From 1910 to 1946: the Air Show is held at the Grand Palais. It is held every other year from 1924 onwards, and is interrupted for several years by the two world wars.

1946: still at the Grand Palais, the first jet aircraft are exhibited. This is Snecma's first show, as the company had just been created in 1945.

1951: from this date, the show takes place at Le Bourget; in-flight presentation of the new Atar jet engine on a flight test bench.

1957: first participation by the USSR and presentation of the C 400 P2 Atar Volant, one of the prototypes in Snecma's Coléoptère ((lien PDF snecma magazine N°2) vertical takeoff aircraft program.

1961: Turbomeca, created in 1938, celebrates the 1200th order for its Artouste II turbo-shaft engine intended for the Alouette helicopter and its 3000th Marboré jet engine, the small engine powering the twin-engine Fouga Magister aircraft.

1969: presentation of the Concorde prototype equipped with Olympus 593 engines produced by Rolls-Royce and Snecma, with Hispano-Suiza landing gear and Labinal wiring. Presentation of the Boeing 747 widebody Jumbo Jet.

1971: on the last day of the show, René Ravaud, Snecma's President and Managing Director, and Gerhard Neumann, vice President of General Electric Aircraft Engines, begin the negotiations which will lead to the creation of CFM International and the CFM56 engine.

1973: presentation of the first Airbus aircraft, the A300, powered by General Electric CF6-50 engines produced in partnership with Snecma; crash of the Tu-144 "Concordski".

1975: presentation of the Super Etendard (Atar engine), the Alpha Jet (Larzac engines) and the Hawk (Adour engine). The first two aircraft are also largely equipped by Snecma Group companies.

1977: in-flight presentation of the CFM56-2 engine on the McDonnell Douglas YC-15 used for the first engine flight test, on February 16th 1977. Presentation of the Ecureuil AS-350 helicopter, replacing the Alouette, powered by Turbomeca's new Arriel engine.

1979: in-flight presentation of Dassault Aviation's single-engine Mirage 2000 and twin-engine Super Mirage 4000, powered by M53 engines.

1983: the US Space Shuttle Enterprise causes a stir as it “flies” over Paris on the back of a Boeing 747, while the show is marked by worldwide recession.

1985: first participation by China; presentation of the Army version of the Dauphin SA-365 M (precursor of the Panther) powered by Turbomeca's brand new TM333 engines.

1987: in-flight presentation of the Rafale A demonstrator… without its M88 engines which are still being developed; first appearance of the Airbus A320 with its fly-by-wire controls and powered by two CFM56-5A engines. Airbus officially launches the dual A330 / A340 program just a week before the opening of the show.

1989: strong Soviet presence with the Bourrane shuttle fixed to the back of the Antonov An-225 - the worlds largest cargo aircraft - the MiG-29 and the Su-27, the only aircraft capable of performing the "cobra" maneuver. Launch of the NH 90 helicopter program, powered by the RTM322. Snecma announces its acquisition of a majority shareholding in the Belgian company FN Moteurs, later to become Techspace Aero.

1991: in-flight presentations of the Rafale C powered with two M88 engines, the American F-117A Nighthawk stealth aircraft – star of the show a few weeks after the end of the Gulf War– and presentation of the first Tigre helicopter prototype, powered by MTR390 ( Turbomeca, Rolls-Royce, MTU) engines.

1993: an A340 prototype with four CFM56-5C engines completes a Le Bourget / Le Bourget round-the-world flight in 24 hours; presentation of the Dassault Aviation Falcon 2000 equipped by Messier-Bugatti, Messier-Dowty, Labinal and Hispano-Suiza.

1995: first presentation of the Boeing 777, first European appearance of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, equipped with Messier-Dowty landing gear; birth of the general aviation diesel cycle engine project at the origin of the SMA company.

1999: first appearance of the American Comanche helicopter, presentation of the MiG-AT powered by Larzac engines, and of the EC 155 and EC 635 helicopters, powered by Turbomeca's Arriel and Arrius engines.

2001: 44th Air Show. The in-flight presentation of the new Airbus A340-600 - equipped by Messier-Bugatti (over 60 types of equipment and systems), Hurel-Hispano (largest thrust reverser ever produced in Europe), Messier-Dowty (landing gear system), Labinal (wiring) and Hispano-Suiza (accessory gearbox for the Trent 500 engine) - is the star of the show. A partnership agreement is signed between the European engine manufacturers to produce the TP400 turboprop engine for the future A400M European military aircraft. Turbomeca and Rolls-Royce win a 1 billion dollar contract to equip’ 399 German, French and Dutch NH90 helicopters with their RTM322 engines. Snecma Moteurs is selected by Alcatel Space to supply the plasma engines for the Spacebus 4100 platforms. Dassault Aviation unveils its Falcon 7X, Boeing considers launching the Sonic Cruiser, and Airbus announces the suppliers selected for the A380.