Text & Pictures : Luc Dujardin © sbap 2011
On June 18-19, the Saint-Dizier air base celebrated its 60th anniversary and the first 30.000 flight hours on Rafale. To commemorate this, two Rafales were specially painted in a dark black-grey colour with "30.000 hours" written on the back and "Armée de l'Air" painted on the belly. Two Rafales were seen as static display behind the hangars, in the public area. It was even possible for children to climb into the cockpit. Four other Rafales could be seen inside the last hangar on the left of the public area, where tables were set for lunch. On Saturday June 18, the weather was sunny but suddenly some spectacular cumulonimbus generated violent, brief thunderstorms and it disturbed the airshow a little. The Royal Jordanian Falcons team and other light aircrafts did not take off at all and the planning of the other displays was changed because of the poor weather conditions. Three famous aerobatic teams like "The Red Arrows, The Breitling Jet Team and the Patrouille de France were lucky enough to fly in good weather. This event was in the end a beautiful success and the many visitors enjoyed it very much.
