At Paris' Le Bourget airfield last week, a jet interceptor, the Mystère IV, buzzed the field at 650 m.p.h. not more than 15 feet off the ground. A tiny two-seater, the Minijet, scooted up & down at 200 m.p.h. Loafing about the field were the Trident, an experimental, needle-nosed plane that the French hope will reach speeds up to Mach 1.6 (1,156 m.p.h. at sea level), and the triple-purpose Vautour (ground-support fighter, all-weather interceptor, light bomber), with expected speeds of 650-plus m.p.h.
The occasion was the 20th Annual International Aviation Salon, hailed by enthusiastic French journalists as the "French Farnborough." It...
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