Art Deco and Mach 2: A Visit to the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace

On a bright, warm day, we headed to the northeast of Paris to explore the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget. I’ll admit, the museum won me over before I even stepped inside. The terminal building is a masterpiece of Art Deco design; I’m convinced that if you took any building I disliked and clad it in an Art Deco exterior, I’d immediately be campaigning for its listed status.

Inside, the collection is staggering. While I’m not 100% up to speed on every Dassault variant, there is truly something for every aviation fan. My main motivation for the visit was my ongoing mission to see every surviving Concorde. After being blown away by the example at the Fleet Air Arm Museum (a site well worth multiple visits), I had to see the two preserved here at Le Bourget. It remains a shock to see just how little cabin space those passengers actually had for such a premium price tag.

Beyond the supersonic icons, I found myself drawn to the aircraft that defined my childhood. Seeing a SEPECAT Jaguar in the flesh reminded me why I loved building it on the kitchen table as a kid—it just looks so sleek. However, my ultimate favorite remains the Hawker Hunter. It was likely my first-ever Airfix build, and its appeal lies in its simplicity. If you asked your five-year-old self to "draw a fast plane," you’d essentially draw a Hawker Hunter. It’s the pure, distilled essence of jet design

Photography Notes:
Location:Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace, Le Bourget, France.
Subject: Concorde, Hawker Hunter, and Art Deco architecture.
The Context: This museum offers a unique blend of industrial photography and architectural history. The contrast between the rigid, vintage Art Deco lines of the terminal and the aerodynamic curves of the aircraft makes it a dream for capturing "retro-futuristic" imagery.