Property in Aquitaine (the French region comprising the Atlantic coasts of Gironde, Gascony, the Western Pyrenees, and the Dordogne) is not just for tourists and sightseers – the area also has a variety of modern industries, some of which have been important to local residents for as long as a century.
While traditional pursuits such as agriculture and winemaking still popular throughout France, in Aquitaine 2010 marks the centenary of the local aerospace industry and an ideal opportunity for air travel enthusiasts to learn more about the importance of the industry to the past century of Aquitaine’s history.
Aquitaine’s history of aviation
Aquitaine’s involvement in aerospace dates back to 1910, just seven years after the infamous first flight of the Wright Brothers, generally accepted as the landmark event that proved human flight was possible.
Within Aquitaine itself, Marcel Issartier played a key role in establishing the aerospace industry. In 1911, he established two aircraft sheds west of Bordeaux at Merignac, where two runways were built and two aircraft – one with a single seat and the other taking two pilots – were tested.
Issartier’s influence remains to this day, as his installation later became Bordeaux Airport. He is also recognised in the naming of Bordeaux’s Rue Marcel Issartier in the city’s Zone Aeronautique. While he did not have any direct descendants, the surname continues to exist in the area, having survived over the past century in other branches of the Issartier family tree.
Aviation in modern-day Aquitaine
Aerospace development is a €4 billion industry in Aquitaine, with 22 major companies and as many as 250 smaller firms all operating in the sector. Employment opportunities for skilled workers relocating to the region range from engineering roles to the need for technicians, with other more general possibilities.
Particular parts of the industry that form areas of local importance include the development of landing gear, business aircraft and helicopter turbines, in which the region’s industry portal Aerospace Technology says Aquitaine is a world leader.
Within Europe, Aquitaine is also a significant contributor to technologies involved in re-entering the atmosphere, airborne radar and solid-propellant boosters.
The area is also home to the AAAF-Bordeaux-Sud-Ouest regional branch of L’Association aeronautique et astronautique de France, which collates and distributes scientific information across a broad range of aviation-related topic areas.
Among these are issues of noise and emissions, space travel, airships and avionics. Business air travel and observations of the Earth from above also feature in the group’s activities.
Special commissions also tackle issues such as space sickness and medicine during space travel, new applications of technology to create the energy needed for air travel and the development of helicopters and rotor-based transport.
Aerospace for Aquitaine tourists
Even if you are not an aerospace engineer – but are an enthusiast of air travel – property in Aquitaine could suit your needs. The Conservatoire de l’Air et de l’Espace d’Aquitaine collects items documenting the history of the aerospace industry in the area, with relics dating back to the very first days of air travel in Aquitaine.
The CAEA – whose name translates as the Academy of Air and Space Aquitaine – helps to arrange events across the region, providing its exhibits to help increase the number of physical objects and photographic records available to those who visit the events.
Access to the CAEA site itself can be arranged with a week’s notice, with group sizes limited to ten people at most. Full details of visitors must be provided in advance, as the CAEA is situated on the 106 French Air Force Base; however, during 2010 many of the exhibits are on show elsewhere in France, making it unnecessary to arrange a visit to the base itself.