Bonjour. As we all (should) know, the first people to fly were French; Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d’Arlandes popped aloft in 1783. On completing the world’s first flight by humans, they drank champagne, and were soon forgotten by the non-French world. To this day France continues to be a nation that’s good at building flying machines. Whereas Britain was great at piston-engined aircraft and crap at jets, France was the opposite and only really came into its own in the 1950s.
Today, France is one of only two European nations that build indigenous high performance aircraft (the other is Sweden). Let’s take two minutes to look at some of the extraordinarily beautiful aeroplanes that France has made.
If you enjoy this, have a look at the top ten British, Australian, Soviet and German aeroplanes. Wanting Something a little more exotic? Try the top ten fictional aircraft.
10. Breguet 1001 Taon
9. Dassault-Breguet Mystère 20
8. Dassault Rafale
7. Sud-Ouest SO.8000 Narval
6. SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc
5. Dassault Mirage 4000
3. Sud Aviation Caravelle
2. Dassault Mirage 2000
1. Dassault Mirage IV
 If you enjoyed this, have a look at the top ten British, French, Swedish, Australian, Soviet and German aeroplanes. Wanting Something a little more exotic? Try the top ten fictional aircraft.
