 from 16 countries, the newest, the largest, and the fastest planes in the world take off for Liborje, Paris, France. And one, a silver monoplane flies out of history bound for the same destination, the 1967 Paris Air Show. Welcome to Paris and the Paris Air Show. I'm Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Magli on the United States Air Force. It was 40 years ago that Charles Lindbergh thrilled the world when he raised the curtain on aviation's future. Four decades later, an exact replica of the spirit of St. Louis arrived in Paris where this man, this lone eagle, did more than any other individual to give impetus to the public's overwhelming acceptance of the airplane as a new means of transportation. This plane that kindled aviation's growth had a prominent role in the United States exhibit at the Paris Air Show, where the theme at the U.S. Pavilion was the spirit of Lindbergh, and that's what the Paris Air Show is all about, a display of aviation's yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It's hard to put a label on the Paris Air Show. It's a supermarket for airplanes and equipment. It's a flying circus. But whatever else it is, it's a field day for camera fans. Some airplanes go straight up and down. Some even go backwards. Some are too big to be believed, like the mini guppy. And some are small enough to fly around inside the big ones. This is the American Phantom, one of the world's most versatile military jets. Where else will you find Russian rockets, U.S. transports, and French and British advanced projects vying for the attention of thousands of visitors from practically every nation on earth? Probably the proudest display of the host country is a full-scale mock-up of the Concorde, the British French supersonic transport. Under the auspices of the United States Department of Commerce, Eastern Airlines exhibited the world's largest jet airliner, the Douglas DC-8 Super 61. Never before seen in Europe, the 61 is capable of carrying more than 250 passengers. It has a normal range of nearly 6,000 miles and a cruising speed of 580 miles per hour. It took Lindbergh 33 and a half hours to cross the Atlantic. With this airplane, flight time is about six. Over, under, around, and behind all of the displays, you'll find kids interested in absolutely everything. Collectors of all the free literature, wide-eyed as ever. What will their kids be doing 40 years from now? Space is well represented here at Paris in 67. One of the most attention-getting space exhibits was this Russian missile. The experts were surprised at the arrangement of the engines, 20 main thrust chambers plus 12 smaller rockets for steering, the booster that put the first man in orbit back in 1961. American space efforts were well represented by an actual Apollo spacecraft, which was recovered after a successful test flight. The U.S. exhibit also contained the most advanced space projects seen at Paris. Two different space gliders or lifting bodies, and probably astronauts of the future will return to Earth in spacecraft much like these. The French space pavilion contained many interesting exhibits on future satellite projects planned by both France and by the European space organization. From Russia, a display of satellites including the 14-tonne proton and the Vostok manned spacecraft. While rockets and satellites make good static displays, unfortunately they can't be demonstrated in an air show, and flying is what the people came to see. So let's see some flying. Here's an interesting plane. It's a supersonic jet, yet it can stop in mid-air and hover like a helicopter. It's the Hawker Harrier, a British plane that points its jet thrust down for take-off and landing and backward for fast forward flight. An American transport plane that tilts its whole wing up or down to get the same effect. And this is a French fire engine that floats on air. Can you remember when helicopters were just a noisy curiosity? Well now, many generations of helicopters have produced a family of versatile and reliable vehicles that are now playing a very important role in aviation history. The Jolly Green Giants in Vietnam are just a good example of how helicopters and their crews have earned the respects of all pilots around the world. Here in 1927, there was no such thing as a helicopter. Today the sky seems to be full of them. The last day of the air show is for the people, the people of Paris and their friends. They come to Lieberge to witness the grand finale of Fashions of the Air. You can actually feel the enthusiasm of these people. They love the air show, and actually they are the most important part of it. The main attraction at the 67 Air Show are the acrobatic teams. Four countries are represented, and this is the absolute zenith in precision formation flying. Now at exactly 1,402 o'clock, everything else will stop and the Thunderbirds will receive the signal to release breaks, and our show will start. About five Gs apiece. They're both way about a thousand pounds right now. The Italian Air Force, a superb nine-man team flying the Fiat G91s. They're called the tri-colored arrows. The colored smoke that they use is red, white, and green, and this is indicative of their national colors. Red arrows from Great Britain's Royal Air Force, flying the Nat Jet trainer. The Navy's Blue Angels are our counterpart under the Defense Department, and they're one of the finest acrobatic teams in the world today. In France, the host team flying the Fugur Magister. It takes men like these, men with spirit, with purpose, and with vision, to show the way to others. In 40 years, we've progressed from one daring man crossing the ocean to an era in which the jetliner is the first choice of hundreds of millions of travelers each year.