Vintage aircraft, Lindbergh’s helmet on Artcurial docket

With the International Paris Air Show — Salon du Bourget — running June 19-25, Paris-based auction house Artcurial will offer 250 lots at its annual Aeronautical Sale, scheduled for June 13 in Paris.

The docket includes three vintage aircraft, furniture with aeronautical designs and the flight helmet Charles Lindbergh wore on his historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-22, 1927.

The vintage aircraft are:

• A 1949 Stampe SV-4C biplane. Forty planes of the design were built at the beginning of World War II and were used for training pilots in the French and Belgian air forces. Later versions were used at various post-war pilot schools in Europe and the planes also were popular in stunt-flying exhibitions. The plane has a pre-auction estimate of $82,500 to $104,500.
• A P149 by Focke-Wulf Piaggio is another training aircraft originally produced by Piaggio in Italy and later by Focke-Wulf in Germany. The pre-auction estimate is $33,000 to $44,000.
  A 1978 Mudry Cap 10B, an aircraft inspired by the Claude Piel’s Emeraulde, the Cap 10 was introduced in 1970, who wanted to build a modern stunt plane in France. That market had been dominated by aircraft from the United States or the Eastern bloc.
• The Mudry Cap 10 became a popular training aircraft for the French Air Force. The one on the auction docket formerly was owned by Marianne Maire, a multi-time French national stunt-flying champion. The plane’s pre-sale estimate is $77,000 to $99,000.

“We are proud to present these three aeroplanes from the 1950s and 1970s that formed an entire generation of European pilots,” Sophie Peyrache of Artcurial’s Aeronautic department said in a news release.

“Furthermore, we will also be offering several pieces of unique furniture at auction, including a sofa and bar created by ateliers Flown (and) made from Airbus A340 porthole panels.”

Flown is a furniture make that works with designer Marc Venot on unique pieces, such as a couch and a bar that use portholes from an Airbus A340. The couch is expected to sell for $16,500 to $27,500 and the bar for $11,000 to $16,500.

Also on the docket is the Lindberg leather flight helmet when he flew non-stop from New York to Le Bourget in 33 hours, 30 minutes. The brown-leather helmet, produced by V.L & A sporting goods of Chicago, is expected to bring $33,000 to $55,000.