The Paris rightly claims to have been the world's first
dedicated business jet, pre-dating JetStar, Sabreliner and Lear Jet 23. Its
manufacturer, Avions Morane-Saulnier, formed in 1911, was steeped in French
aviation history.
The Paris started out in the early 1950s as the MS 755
Fleuret, a two-seat military trainer vying for a French government contract
that was won by the rival V-tailed Fouga Magister. Redesigned as the four-seat
MS 760, the prototype first flew on July 29, 1954 and was informally dubbed
Paris when a sticker bearing the French capital's coat of arms was stuck
beneath its cabin for the French air minister's trip to a NATO conference. Like
the sticker, the name stuck.
Among those attracted by the nifty little airplane was Beech
Aircraft Corporation, which quickly cut a deal for U.S. marketing and
manufacturing rights, figuring that business aircraft operators would jump at
the chance to fly a jet.
"Nowhere in the world is there another airplane of its
typeÉan amazingly fast, four-seat airplane, something that has never been
offered before," crowed a 1955 press release.
That year the Paris prototype conducted a 40-city U.S.
demonstration tour, during which it gave rides to more than 2,100 passengers —
Olive Anne Beech was one of the first— and corporate pilots, among them Najeeb
'Jeeb' Hallaby, later to become FAA Administrator.
All were impressed, but not enough to put their money down
($250,000 back then). Beech sold just two Parises, one of them to Henry and
Louise Timken of Timken Roller Bearing, who also became launch customers for
the Lear Jet 23 and Jet Commander.
The Paris enjoyed better sales elsewhere. Buyers included
the Shah of Persia, Morocco's Prince Hassan, and Harold Quandt, heir to the BMW
automobile empire. But the bulk of the 157 built went to the military, in
France, Brazil and Argentina. A stretched six-seat Paris III model was launched
in 1964, but never went into production.
And Morane-Saulnier? It became part of Socata, manufacturer
of the TBM 700 turboprop.
