A Patrol, The Great Lady
First days of this month of October 2022 …
First days of another month of October for them.
A moving thought for all of this Patrol, the French Patrol, the French “ Top Gun” for some, or also, the more majestically and affectionately called, since already 70 years … “The Great Lady”.
First days of this month of October 2022 and coming to an ending : a new memorable “summer” season.
For having followed a part of this “summer” season, quite unexpectedly to be said, and in addition to being already of an emotional nature, I feel even more particularly emotional now.
And yet, I’m also sure and humble to feel and understand, that I can't imagine the emotional charge it can gather and contain, even more, and each time it happens, for all of this Patrol, all of these men and women concerned, involved.
To be part of the French Patrol is often only a parenthesis, a chapter of their careers, a chapter like no other one chapter, before and after.
Even more, it is and will forever be, yesterday, today, tomorrow, an or the : “Adventure of a Lifetime”.
Also often, for a lot of them, for long, very long, often since their childhood, it was and it remains, a dream.
I had the chance to meet one of them, in particular, for who it was, and for who it is still a dream.
And just like for already, yesterday, today, tomorrow, it will also forever remain, in his heart, and his memories : an “Adventure of a Lifetime”, that he wanted to live, that he had to live, and that I am so happy and still so touched to know, to have seen, that it is a dream of a child, that had been able to become true years later.
I am also so grateful for this unexpected meeting, a meeting “entre ciel et terre”, “between sky and earth”, as I like to call it.
Also a variously funny and epic meeting.
But most of all, no matter what could happen and be then : a great human meeting.
That’s what I value and what I want to remember too.
For that, I may forever thank and remember also, of that forever particular and memorable, 14th of July 2022.
The unit traditionally opens the Bastille Day military parade in Paris, flying majestically over the capital.
With the memory still particularly disappointed of not having been able to be there and to see them, the same exact day of the year, but on the previous year, for this year 2022, I was particularly determined to be free for that day, and to be ready to see them, to photograph them, to film them, to contemplate them, to live and to salute the moment, by being and standing, on one of the main avenues of Paris.
I came, I see. Veni, vidi.
For that, then, really, I may forever thank and remember also, of that forever particular and memorable, 14th of July 2022, and for all of the kind of crossovers that then happened, and that made me then start to follow even more, from far, most of the time, from far more close some other times, all of the weeks and months that then, kept making all of this summer season 2021-2022.
A 2021-2022 season that finally came to an end, through these first days of October.
After 38 demonstrations, 26 sites flown over and 22 passages, and so much, so much more in fact.
Within a few days, a new season will start.
To quote the words of the Commander of the Air Base and Director General of the School of the Air and Space, to understand the French Air Force Academy, on the 5th of October :
" This afternoon so, when the smoke will have disappeared from the sky, when the noise of the reactors will have stopped, it will come the moment and the time of the goodbyes for the ones leaving. Beyond the brotherhood of arms and the complicity between the members of an unparalleled team, these are and these will be all the memories of a unique season that they will take with them."
In the meantime, to scroll and re-scroll all of these images and others, to associate these images, to share them (through my social networks, through my website, etc.), to bring my own artistic and human touch to them, … Without any doubt: to be and to remain like impregnated with all of these other images, sensations, memories, moments, encounters, exchanges, correspondence, support, reciprocal, respective, strong, beautiful, memorable.
To still be impregnated with all of this.
To still be blown away for sure for having been initiated, more than I could have imagined or expected, during this summer, during this certainly particular season, since a long time ago and since so many other seasons already for others, in times and seasons still to come for still others: to this universe, to this patrol, to the work, to the talent, to the devotion, and to the contributions of each of them, until their deepest and respective personality, stories, human warmth, human sensitivity, humor too, but also to the rigor and their rigor, to the discipline and the professionalism that is required of them, which they are keen to ensure, by good weather as by bad weather, probably and often already exhausted from so many encounters, training sessions, trajects and trips, aerial displays, and still also personal lives by the way too. Just like us.
In short, even more: wanting to salute the humanity of these men and women, whose, of this Patrol and more: they make it and they share it.
They also explain it, as much as they can, as much as they are also questioned about it.
For instance, about the planes, in terms of models used by The Great Lady since already 1981, they are so-called “alphajets”.
©Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace/EQPAA
The radio code of the Patrol is Athos.
The Three Musketeers have a motto : "One for all, All for one.”
In French : “Un pour tous, tous pour un.”
In French literature, "Athos" is one of the fictional characters in the novels The Three Musketeers (1844), by one of the most famous French writers: Alexandre Dumas. Athos is one of these so-called Musketeers. Highly fictionnlized, but inspired by a true and historical one : Armand d'Athos (1615–1644).
In the novel of The Three Musketeers, Athos and the other two musketeers, Porthos and Aramis, are friends of the novel's protagonist, d'Artagnan. The Three Musketeers have a motto : "One for all, All for one.”. They are a team.
The pilots and the mechanics of the French Patrol are called, in terms of callsigns, Athos and MecAthos, precisely after the character of Athos.
For referencing and meaning how much they are also a team.
The French Patrol also pays a tribute to another very important, beautiful and famous reference, both of French literature and of French history : Antoine de Saint Exupéry and his famous Petit Prince, Little Prince.
“ Make of your life a dream, and of dream, a reality.”
The Patrol honors the memory and the universal humanist values of Antoine de Saint Exupéry, world-famous writer, but also an aviation pioneer and fighter who died for France on July 31, 1944 on a high aerial reconnaissance mission above occupied France, at that time.
Also, the French Patrol will celebrate its 70th anniversary in May 2023. Great Great Lady.
Between other qualifiers : majestuous and extremely artistic Patrol and Lady.
Because yes, it is also a whole art of making an airplane fly, and perhaps even more to make airplanes fly together, and even more, to make them carry and diffuse, especially colors, but so much and so much more in reality.
The art of making an airplane, and airplanes fly.
The art of making with them too : ART too.
So beautiful and so artistic Patrol.
Great spirits meet.
We had to meet.
Our paths had to meet more and longer, than just for and during one of these another yearly fly over the French capital for the Bastille Day.
Let’s talk again about ART.
With the Great Lady, it is a whole plural and particular art :
Think about it, consider it : piloting a plane and planes yes, and thank you and bravo to all of these pilots.
But all of these planes can not and could not fly if there are not and if there would not also be always present too and determining : a whole team too of mechanics, avionics mechanics. Thank you and bravo to all of these mechanics.
Because yes, everyday, every week, for each demonstration also, before, after, the art is also to be able to take care of both the security of the pilots but also, for that, of the planes.
Repairing them, maintaining them, understanding them, being understood by them, carrying them, hoisting them, being carried by them, receiving wings from them, give them even more wings.
Figures, symbols, messages, universal, particular, personal, emotions for each and everyone too.
All of that.
Yes it is.
Wings to sublimate and to share with, for those who remain on the ground, from the youngest to the oldest, from the most initiated ones already to those who are still only discovering or contemplating differently. this Patrol.
Our looks are all the richer, universal, but also, for everyone, always: unique, singular.
In all of this, through all of this, there is certainly and so on: sharing, art, humanity, technique, prowess, men, women, stories of life, of lives, and encounters, between sky and earth, between earth and sky, between initiated ones and non-initiated ones, and cohesion, and scope, and beauty, and a timeless and memorable anchorage, which is, which are, in short, all together, just more than beautiful, stronger, and more to be saluted.
For now, and this moving 2022 season coming to an end ...
With emotions also, with gratitude also,...
THANK YOU, BRAVO, and COURAGE again to all of this Patrol, Great Lady, men, women, families!
What a season, what men, what women, what a Great Lady (La Grande Dame), what a beautiful and tireless sharing between sky and earth, between earth and sky.
Pina
PS : My own callsign ? Come on !?
Pina … Pina Maverick.
What else ?
A own and personal callsign formally validated by one of the members of the Patrol. The Great Class !
But as I like to say and to joke with, I am a Maverick who does not really fly, and who rather stays on the ground, to contemplate, to support, to photograph, to film.
Pina, this another … Great Lady, always revolutionning some of the most iconic and famous characters of our, mad, but also, beautiful world, especially if we want to take part in making it better …
You know, just like how Michael Jackson used to say:
“A better place for you and for me” or also, “Heal The World”.
Pina
