The Paris Air Show opens
A look at the deals being done, the exhibits -- and one aircraft that didn't make it
Bombardier Inc.'s CRJ-1000 jet
The U.S. Air Force pulled its F-22 jets, made by Lockheed Martin, from the Paris Air Show, citing availability constraints. European industry executives said there might have been concerns over whether the stealth plane would be exposed to radar trying to unlock its secrets. The plane is shown here at a U.S. Air Force base in Okinawa, Japan.
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (centre) listens to Dassault Aviation head Charles Edelstenne (right) as French transport minister Dominique Bussereau (second from right) and Serge Dassault (right) listen as Mr. Fillon officially opens the week long 48th international Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport.
Jean Claude Bordenave, the pilot of the Airbus A300-0G, appears at the cockpit window as his airplane is towed to the exhibition area at the Paris Air Show. Novespace, owner of the plane, runs parabolic flight campaigns studying phenomena such as the behaviour of dense granular matter in 0-g under vibration and the changes of neuron excitability in the human brain as a function of the gravity level.
An Israel Air Force Gulfstream G550 jet and other aircraft sit on display before the opening of the 48th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport
A US Air Force F16 at the Paris Air Show
Workers finish assembling a prototype helicopter which will be able to fly on diesel. Eurocopter, the world's biggest civil helicopter manufacturer, expects a downturn in orders from the military sector from 2010 as the economic crisis cuts into budgets, chief executive Lutz Bertling said.
A mechanic cleans the propeller of a Vietnam Airlines ATR72
An Airbus A380 takes part in a flying display three days before the opening of the 48th Paris Air Show
A Bleriot 11/2 takes part in a flying display at Le Bourget airport near Paris
REMY DE LA MAUVINIERE