The very last flight of the SAFIRE Falcon 20

The weather conditions were perfect on February 23 for a memorable last flight on board Safire's Falcon 20.

A few days earlier, it had indeed been decided to take advantage of the conveyance of the plane from its base at Toulouse-Francazal airport, to Toulouse-Blagnac airport, to immortalize together the two high-altitude laboratories of French research such as the Pic du Midi observatory and Safire's Falcon 20.

After a careful preparation between the pilots of Safire and of the TB-30-epsilon photographer plane, it was necessary to wait for the weather and the availability of the pilots, of the planes, to coincide... The starting signal was given at 2 p.m. above the Comminges. In a few minutes, the two aircraft thus began a long ballet above the Pyrenees and in particular around this monument which is the Pic-du-Midi-de-Bigorre, recognizable among all by its television transmitter and its famous astronomical observatory. .

It was not the first time that a Safire plane had approached the Pyrenean giant, because its vocation is not only astronomical but, what is less known, also to monitoreof the atmosphere and more particularly its chemical composition. Therefore it is natural natural that many airborne measurements have been often compared to those of the reference instruments installed in this prestigious location.

The aerial pictures are due to the talent of Pierre-Etienne Langenfeld who kindly authorized Safire to use his images, also to the talentt of the TB-30 pilot the Nicolas Honnons. He has also published a "making-of" video of the flight, which is available below this article.

This exceptional event could not have taken place without the enthusiasm and professionalism of the Safire teams, Météo-France forecasters, air traffic controllers, firemen from the Toulouse-Francazal and Toulouse-Blagnac airports, the staff of Aerotec and, last but not least, the Ailes Anciennes de Toulouse who brought everyone together. Thanks to all of them.