FredL wrote: ↑20 Jul 2023, 18:48
Pictures 25 and 26, the difference between the two "2000-5 F" is the "Cigogne"'s (stork) wing on the tail :
- SPA 25 downwards,
- SPA 103 upwards
What is the prize for the winner ? A Mirage 2000 B or D back seat ride during next year's July 14th défilé ?
By the way great trip and great set of pictures. Congratulations.
Almost right Fred, SPA26 has the wings level. SPA3 (the 3rd flight of this unit) has the storks' wings pointing downward. But you got the drift and if it were me, you would be allowed to do the flight next year.
Day 3 was final day of our trip and that was all about Paris. Although we started at Villacoublay, nothing went up or came down the runway between 08:30-09:15. We were hoping for the weather flight (usually performed by a couple of PC-21's), but it seemed it wasn't nescesarry this year. Anyway, the weather was also more promissing today with a lot more sunshine as the day would progress and hitting the low 30's in downtown Paris.
After some final debating we decided to go to Les Invalides instead of the Nanterre Bridge. Both positions have pro's and con's. Nanterre is more on the outskirts, close to a highway (thus very accessable), free parking and the light is better for photography. The distance however is further away and with the RER to Les Invalides (for the arrival of the helicopters, which was high on our priority list) would mean we would likely arrive too late. We parked our car strategicaly next to parc de André Citroën (where another display was being held), which was free of charge as well as we learned on the spot. This is also close to Balard metro station from where you can take line 8 to Les Invalides in about 15minutes.
Upon arrival we noted that one of the static displays had already arrived just 5 minutes before our arrival.
33] An absolute highlight of this years static was this SA.330J of the DGA-EV from Istres, which is rarely seen.
The start of the actual fly past was advertised at 10:33AM, but it was delayed for some reason (possibly technical issues with one of the Rafale M's) till around 10:43AM.
34] Traditionally the defilé is opened by the Patrouille de France, and this year was no exception.
35] Luckily the smoke was blown away quickly for this year's absolute highlight. The invitation of Indian Rafales, highlighting the 25 years of collaboration between both nations. The flight was under supervision of a EC30 Rafale (the unit which hosted the Orion'23 exercise, in which the Indians Rafales were also present).
36] Rafale's DH RB004 & RB006 and Rafale EH BS028 (along with spare BS023) are part of the 101 sqn based at Jalpaguiri/Hashimara AFS.
37] One should not expect to get high quality pictures of the fly past, however the bigger the aircraft, the better.
38] And framing formations instead of individual aircraft is a different approach to deal with it. This year also the UK & Belgium were invited to join as part of their bordering airspaces and collaboration in shared airspace defence.
39] Plus there is no better way of logging the aircraft serials that fast as photography as formations succeed one another very quickly.
40] An A330MRTT with a trio of Rafales from St. Dizier
41] With 11 airframes delivered the A330MRTT is now the main tanker aircraft of the AdlA.
42] Nice to see 2 "new" Rafales which we didn't see at Évreux the day before. These likely landed after we had left.
43] This A330-243 (1657/F-UJCT) has a temporary "VIP" outfit to fullfill as pure transporter. Eventually it will be converted into a MRTT as well.
44] Also not seen at Évreux was the C-130J variant, but luckily this one joined the fly past along with it's smaller sister.
45] But her big brother was there as well. The A400M deliveries continue with 21 being delivered so far of the eventual 50 aircraft ordered.
46] The C-135FR's days are numbered with just 6 operational airframes left. After it's fly past, it continued to the RIAT to celebrate this years SKYTANKER theme.
47] The Marine Nationale was also well presented, even without the planned two additional Rafale M's who had to divert into Évreux.
48] Former AdlA Falcon 50 78/F-RAFJ was converted earlier this decade into a Falcon 50 SURMAR and joined the Marine inventory with the 24 Flotille.
49] The Atlantique2 is still going strong, despite the old design. Most have been upgraded to the Standard 6 by now, which enables it to still be relevant in today's battlefield and play a key role in ISR surveillance.
50] The final PC-21's of the second order have been delivered a few weeks ago, but unfortunately they were not taking part in this years edition.
51] The EMB121 Xingu is still the main multi-engine trainer of the French. Not training just AdlA pilots, but also Marine, Douane, Sec. Civile as well as pilots of other nations like e.g. Belgium.
52] The Sécurité Civile was present with a single Dash 8 Q-400MR
In between the fixed wing fly past and the helicopter fly past lies a 30-40 minute window, whereas the ground parade continues over the Champs-Elysées. In the meantime the clouds started to make way for the sun, but the light was still pretty much head on. Luckily the helicopters fly a lot lower (around 650ft) and it's a bit of hit and miss as the formations are succeeding even faster then the fixed wing do.
53] This year the helicopter defilé started with the Gendarmerie. They celebrated their 70 year anniversary with a larger then usual formation consisting of 2 EC135, 2 EC145 and these legacy AS350's.
54] A pair of Tigres from 1 RHC.
55] Aside the 5 Fennecs that were flying around Paris and securing the airspace, there were also two in the fly past. The front one being the "canon" version from EH05.067 from Orange.
56] The final invited foreign nation was Italy. They took part with this MH-90A due to the collaboration with the French navy and being partners in the NH90 program.
With the fly past over, the waiting game started for the helicopters to drop in for the statics. Those helicopters that do, refuel first at Issy-les-Moulineaux. However, a couple didn't need it and returned after they broke the bigger formation.
57] First was an ALAT SA330B that dropped in to get some para's for the para drop, but it appeared to be cancelled due to the high winds (at least we didn't see the drop happen). It came in that close that if blew out of my frame and had to wait till it passed. Taken with just 70mm.
58] A quick phone pic, as changing lenses with all the dust swirling around is a no brainer. Hence the lack of rotorblur, but I hope the background compensates for it.
59] The second helo to land was the latest Airbus sale to the MoD; the H160. This helicopter, which is still in final development, will replace six military helicopters within the French defence: Panther, Dauphin & Alouette III within the French Navy. The Fennec in French Air Force and Army service and Gazelle in French Army service. Four interim Marine examples are already being operated at Lanveoc.
60] Final preparations and talks were still taking place on the ground for the helo's arriving from Issy.
61] First being directed in was the NH90 Caiman with the Grand Palace in the background.
62] I really like this head on!
63] The Navy NH90 was on top of my list and luckily it was well positioned this year. The down wash was fierce and eventually ended up framing it with just 50mm.
64] Reversing in before final parking.
65] Then a quick dash over to the other field for a landing Tigre.
66] Again a phone shot, as this was just crazy close!
67] A close up from the crew while being in the shut down procedure.
68] Again off to the other field for a landing Dauphin.
69] And back again to the ALAT section, where another NH90 was approaching.
70] Followed quickly by an AS.532UL from 5 RHC based at Pau.
71] What a contrast to earlier at Chartres! These guys were so relaxed and the conditions were so much better here.
72] With parkingspots filling up at the front and attracting a lot of crowd now, photo options were limited. Luckily I had brought along my 2-step stepladder and with some creativity you can still make atmospheric shots like these.
73] With al the statics having arrived, the fences are being put upright and the crews start to interact with the crowd.
Sattisfied by the results, we left the square at 1:30PM towards the metro station for our final stop. We took the metro back to Balard and via the MoD (where Rafale C01 is preserved), we went to parc André Citroën for the (static) displays overthere. An AdlA Fennec had already arrived and a C.101 glider from Saintes/Thénac was put up as well. Due to the exhibits being open to the public, they were not good for photos though. We waited for the final exhibit, which was an AdlA SA330 that was supposed to display (drop para's) around 3PM. As winds were still pretty high, this drop was cancelled and the Puma came in rapidly.
74] Still high and nose into the winds, but I like the perspective.
75] It however dropped in so quickly I forgot to change camera's in time.
76] Shut down! This SA330B belongs to the EH01.044 based at Solenzara, Corse. Nice to see them al the way up here.
That was the final shot of this trip and
if you made it this far! I hope you liked most of it and perhaps it may be of help for any future trips out there for you. Please feel free to comment.
