Reims-Cessna F 337F C/n 01353.0031, F-BSIZ.
*28*

The F 337F Super Skymaster from behind. From childhood I was interested by twin boom aeroplanes. First by P-38 Lightnings of 1/33 "Belfort" (the flight of the late Saint-Exupery writer) passing often and very near my spotting head over my East France village just in the northern part of Belfort, then by a "chocolate picture" of the Swedish fighter Saab J 21 piston-engined pusher, next by the impossible to ignore DH Vampire which also flew very low over my village as did P-38s at the end of WWII until 1948-1949, next by the French SUC-10 Courlis tourer, also a pusher, built by SECAN and fitted with a hasardous 180hp Mathis engine which engaged more than one pilot to pray before take-off. I flew it as a young passenger and sure it would be now a good vintage aircraft for me with...another engine. In fact this aft-mounted water-cooled engine mainly suffered during hot weather and it was a good idea during flight to permanently spot any landable field...to keep possibly in good condition after rough landing this quite luxuous, comfortable and finally elegant shoulder-winged aircraft which had been christened by the famous French actress Martine Carol and so received a good publicity though first prototype was destroyed with its flight test pilot, Alfred Testot-Ferry, during an air show at the Villacoublay airfield on July 6, 1947. I end with the Fairchild Packet I discovered with interest during 1952 or 1953 flyng often at the Athenes Airport in Greece and we have in the future time to show and write about the Noratlas...