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, Captain 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 peridcope removed.
Also of note, Cpt Amberg's son Arnaud became leader of the PAF
himself in 2004, flying Alpha Jets. This
print is available from AviationGraphic.com.
* * *
100% size sample: forward fuselage and jet-blast
shield.
* * *
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. This
print is available from AviationGraphic.com.
* * *
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. This
print is available from AviationGraphic.com.
* * *
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.
