Patrouille de France 2023

[Flightline Uk]

https://www.air-shows.org.uk/2023/04/ai ... ance-2023/

[Adam]

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The Patrouille de France's special tail schemes for the 2023 season, marking their 70th anniversary (image © Emma LE ROUZIC / Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace).

The anniversary will also be marked by several unique manoeuvres within the display, most notably, "Heritage", which will see three Alpha Jets drawing the number '70' with their smoke trails.

[Adam]

The finalised version of the Patrouille de France (and other Ambassadeurs de l'Air) domestic 2023 event schedule has now been officially released. There are a handful of changes compared to the version prematurely released a couple of weeks ago. The two-ship tactical display schedules have still not been entirely finalised.

The below list is displays only, not flypasts.
May 13: AirExpo, Muret – Lherm
May 14: France Meeting Aérien du Pays de Montbéliard, Courcelles-lès-Montbéliard
May 20-21: Meeting de l’Air FOSA de Salon de Provence
May 27-28: Le Temps des Hélices, La Ferté-Alais, Paris
Jun 3: Meeting Aérien AéroFestival, Villeneuve sur Lot
Jun 4: Sports et Collection, Poitiers – Le Vigient
Jun 11: France Meeting Aérien Plomodiern - Saint Nic **NEW**
Jun 19-25: Paris Airshow: Salon International de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace du Bourget (SIAE), Le Bourget, Paris
Jul 2: Le Touquet – Paris Plage International Airshow, Le Touquet **Date adjusted**
Jul 8: Fête de l’Air, Les Mureaux
Jul 15: Meeting Aérien Le Barcarès, Port Barcarès
Jul 29: Fastnet Race, Cherbourg en Cotentin
Jul 30: Meeting Plage, Deauville
Aug 3: Meeting Plage, Palavas
Aug 5: Alpe d’Huez Fête de l’Air, Alpe d’Huez
Aug 14: Meeting Plage, Le Lavandou
Aug 15: Meeting Plage, Toulon – Le Mourillon
Aug 20: France Meeting Plage, Perros-Guirec **Date adjusted**
Aug 25: Meeting Plage, Pornichet
Aug 27: Meeting International de la Somme – Hauts, Albert - Picardie
Sep 9: Paris – Villaroche Air Legend, Melun – Villaroche, Paris
Sep 17: Meeting Aérien de Roanne, Roanne – Renaison
Sep 23: Meeting Plage, Saint Cyprien
Sep 24: Meeting Aéroclub de France, Chartres
Sep 30-Oct 1: Journée Portes Ouvertes, Avord
Oct 8: Meeting Plage, Saint Jean de Luz **Date changed**

[Adam]

There's some really beautiful manoeuvres in this year's display routine. The sequence is a bit unusual, as instead of splitting the group into two groups of four for the second half of the show, it's instead being flown mainly as a two and a six. Possibly my favourite display Patrouille de France sequences in recent years.

Some highlights of this year's sequence, with timestamps for the below video:

• 01:20 - An interesting new formation pass. 4 aircraft erect, 2 inverted and 2 knife edge.
• 01:51 - Not really obvious what's happening in this particular video, but the team start the second half of the show by breaking into three groups and drawing the number '70' in the sky, to mark their anniversary.
• 02:57 - A modified version of Le Sherif. As usual, a flyby with one aircraft erect, one inverted and two in knife edge, but now with two extra jets barrel rolling around them throughout.
• 05:11 - A stunning new manoeuvre and my personal highlight of the show: 6 aircraft approach towards the crowd and perfom rollbacks into Echelon formation. Then, an amazing rollunder break. And finally, just when they seem to be finished, simultanious aileron rolls as they depart.
• 05:47 - A new manoeuvre from the solos: one preforms a negative-G turn while the other barrel rolls around their smoke

(Yes, I know the video title says 2024, but it was filmed last Sunday)