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Fouga CM.170 Magister

Yet another one of my "caprice" drawings - I was fed up with other projects I was working on and drew this one in only a few days. I'm rather happy with it despite the speed with which it was done. In addition, the Magister is a bit of an underdog. It was a very important design for its class and time and served until the end of the 20th century, but remains relatively unknown. The surviving airframes are now re-appearing all over the world, flown by private pilots.

1. "Athos 1" is the callsign of the leader Patrouille de France. In 1978, Cdt Amberg was Athos 1 and flew this Magister. I don't know which serial his aircraft bore, so I chose 456 VL, which did fly with the PAF. Note that the aircraft has had the instructor's periscope removed. Also of note, Cdt Amberg's son Arnaud became leader of the PAF himself in 2004, flying Alpha Jets. This print is available from AviationGraphic.com.

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2. The Fouga Magister was also used as a proficiency and liaison aircraft by operational units. The 10e Escadre de Chasse based in Creil flew Mirage IIICs in defence of Paris and also operated this aircraft, which was sent to Fairford, UK, on July 5, 1980 to participate in an USAFE Open Day.

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3. The Fouga Magister was the last jet operated by the Irish Air Corps and was the mount of the "Silver Swallows" demonstration team. This team was noted for its fine performance at the 1997 edition of the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford. This aircraft was assigned to the Light Strike Squadron of 1 Support Wing, and also flown by the Silver Swallows.

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4. Fouga Magister number 446 / 102-CK of Dijon's EAM 9/102 received a special livery in 1997, to celebrate 30 years of Fouga operations.

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5. Starting in 1970, the Magister of the Patrouille de France carry the PAF logo on the left side of the nose, as can be seen here on leader Cne Pagès' aircraft.

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File details:

• Size: 3543 x 1179 px (30 cm x 9.98 cm at 300 dpi)
• Weight: approx. 23 Mo.
• Date of creation: January 2008.