The 2011 Paris Airshow in pictures

Over two thousand international exhibitors, 142 aircraft and tens of thousands of visitors gathered at the Le Bourget exhibition center this week for the 49th International Paris Airshow.


 Despite some grey skies and unwelcome rain, crowds were treated to spectacular daily flying displays and insights into bleeding-edge aerospace technologies that will shape the way we travel around the planet - and beyond - in the 21st Century. Gizmag joined the throng of media organizations soaking up all that the show has to offer - here's our summary of the week in pictures.

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The biennial Paris Airshow has a rich history that stretches back to 1909 and highlights of the 49th edition included the appearance of special guest Solar Impulse and Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, plus flying displays by the Airbus A380, Dassault Rafale and the Cri Cri electric plane. On the ground, EADS presented several thought-provoking concepts for future aircraft and innovators in aerospace materials and UAV technology were thick on the ground. Our pic of the show is Austria's D-Dalus - an "outside-the-box" flying machine currently in prototype phase that has the potential to revolutionize the UAV platform, and possibly even find passenger transit roles in the not too distant future.