In France, the Air and Space Force is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year.
An exceptional event is being prepared in Versailles for this occasion.
The French patrol, paratroopers and aerobatic teams will perform a unique spectacle above the gardens and the castle.
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It’s a unique jump in the world above a legendary French monument: the Palace of Versailles and its 800 hectare garden. This is a paratrooper demonstration to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the French Air Force. “It’s truly an honor to jump on such a prestigious site. It’s quite rare, we don’t know if it will happen again one day so we try to savor every second of it“, confides Warrant Officer Michael, parachutist ambassador and member of the Phoenix team.
Rehearsals begin for this great air show, notably with the Patrouille de France and its stunning figures. To fly in this extraordinary setting, pilots are supported by ground teams. “The aim of the training is to understand the site“, explains Romain Leseigneur, fighter pilot who usually works in Salon-de-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), which is the mother base. “We have a sort of tracing that we transpose onto the sublime site of the Palace of Versailles“, he explains.
The Air Force founded at Versailles
Return to this very French story. In 1794, the young republic created the world’s first aerial unit, a company of balloonists tasked with observing the battlefield from balloons. But it was during the First World War that the planes, still rudimentary, were used by the French army.
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In this show, side by side, the hunters of yesterday and the gusts of today celebrate nearly a century of innovation. It was in the small stable of Versailles that the air force was founded. In total, 1 hour 15 minutes of dizziness. On Friday, 20,000 spectators are expected for this ballet that the Sun King would have dreamed of.
