Great footage taken at the Helicopter pilot school in France. The video is a bit old and shows training procedures with the Aerospatiale SA 318C Alouette II including takeoffs, landings, and no flare autorotations. The guys flying are military pilots from the french Army.
The French Air Force keeps a number of units in Chad. Because of the nature of the missions, the old Aerospatiale SA 330 Puma and Dassault Mirage F1 are stationed there. Pilots often call these “leisure missions” because they pretty much get to do stuff they wouldn’t normally do… like flying extremely low and generally having lots of fun. Check out the videos of the “Crazy Boys” over Chad.
The Dassault Mirage 2000 is probably one of the best looking planes in the world. Admire its stunning beauty in this great French Air Force video showcasing the qualities of their jet fighter.
The French really do know how to make good videos. I’ve said this for quite a long time now. Anyway, check out these cool pilots and their Pumas doing some really crazy stuff over the deserts of Chad. That low pass over those three soldiers is really scary. I bet if I were in their shoes, I’d shit myself in fear. Enjoy!
Compilation of Mirage, Mirage 2000 and Rafale footage. This video has everything, from low level passes in Chad to high altitude chases in the Rafale. Also some very nice footage taken from the French movie “Skyfighters”.
Skyfighters is the English title given to the French movie “Les chevaliers du ciel”. The film was marketed as the French Top Gun and I don’t think it was a blockbuster mainly due to the ridiculous plot. The film was however very impressive under one aspect and that is the aerial footage, probably some of the best shots of the Dassault Mirage 2000 ever. If you didn’t see this film this is your chance to see the best 12 minutes of it: the planes. The flight sequences from the film were all filmed with actual planes and aerial photography, without the use of CGI. In order to capture the high-speed maneuvers, a specially designed camera was attached to a Mirage 2000 aircraft which then tailed the ’star planes’ as they flew, for only another Mirage 2000 could actually fly at speeds that matched the planes being filmed.
If someone decides to make a top 10 of the most memorable flying formations then this one should be one of the best. The mighty Concorde, the only successful supersonic passenger airliner leading the members of the Patrouille de France. Must have been quite a sight.
This is a former clip of the Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre - ALAT. The ALAT is one of the many Corps that form the French Army officially known as the Armée de Terre. The ALAT consists mainly of Gazelle and Puma helicopters and was established on 22 November 1954 for observation, reconnaissance, assault and supply duties.
These pilots probably have the time of their lives in Chad. No restrictions, no nothing… just man and machine in a great playground. The Mirage F1 is a very rugged airplane suited to the conditions in Chad where it performs aerial reconnaissance missions. These missions are known as “leisure missions” since pilots have quite a lot of fun doing stuff normally forbidden. Check out some amazing low-level action over the desert of Chad.
This is a 20 year old Citroen Visa Gti commercial. Putting a Citroen Visa alongside the Dassault-Breguet Etendard is not really the greatest of ideas, but overall this commercial is quite funny. Especially the submarine at the end. Only the French could come up with such a weird commercial.
