Embark with the French aerobatic team which trains in Charente-Maritime

The French “unlimited” aerobatic team is in the training phase in Saintes, Charente-Maritime. Hosted by the Air Force at base 722, pilots, civilians and soldiers practice the most acrobatic tricks in the air. They are preparing for the next European championships in July, in Niort.

They are very experienced pilots who have been installed for a few days at the air base 722 of Saintes in Charente-Maritime. They belong to the French aerobatic team. The pilots and technicians are civilians and military. “Iivil and military collaboration is important because we have a common objective, that of promoting France internationally. The Air Force has logistical resources that allow us to train in excellent conditions.”explains Jérôme Houdier, the manager of the French aerobatic team.

These pilots usually train elsewhere, but changing places is interesting for these competitors “They are used to flying at Salon-de-Provence or Moulins, but in competition, it won’t be on those terrains. So getting used to flying with new landmarks is super interesting.” , specifies Patrick Paris, the aerobatic trainer.

While the pilots are in the air, their instructor is on the ground and installed in a lounge chair (to avoid having the blow too curved), and watches the tricks they perform. He corrects certain errors live and can chat with the pilot via his radio.

There are also women who do this job. This is the case of fanny Viallard who always wanted to fly. The sensations in the air are incomparable according to her.“I started flying at 13 and I discovered aerobatics at 14. It was a hook with this sport straight away”. Because it is indeed a sport that requires very specific physical abilities “We take “G” positive or negative, gravitational or antigravitational forces, and there, we will have to contract the muscles to be able to maintain the irrigation of the brain, to always have blood in the brain. The objective is to be as efficient as possible, not to be disturbed by the external environment, so we will have adrenaline, but we are not necessarily aware of it at the moment T. It is a force that allows us to surpass ourselves during the flight.”

But the game is worth the candle “It’s a completely different vision of the world compared to the vision on earth. We have the chance to see things in 3D”, she explains.

The pilots continue their training and will meet again in the region at the beginning of July, they will participate in the high aerobatics championships of Niort.

VIDEO. See the report by Frédéric Cartaud and Pascal Simon.