80TH ANNIVERSARY OF ‘‘LE PETIT PRINCE’’

Organised by the Air Aventures association, the Toulouse Tarfaya/Cape Juby Rally staged its second edition from May 18th to 27th, 2023, in the steps of ‘‘The Little Prince’’, a masterpiece whose 80th anniversary of the first publication worldwide is being celebrated this year.

With the support of the ‘‘Fondation Antoine de Saint Exupéry pour la Jeunesse’’ (FASEJ), some 15 crews took to the air from the Toulouse-Lasbordes aerodrome on May 18th, 2023, for the second year running, to pay tribute to Aero-Postal Pioneers. For 10 full days, they flew over France, Spain and Morocco.

This year, the Rally was attended by Olivier d’Agay, grand-nephew of the author of ‘‘Le Petit Prince’’, who became for the occasion ‘‘chef d’aéroplace’’ at the Tarfaya/Cape Juby stopover, a position occupied by Antoine de Saint Exupéry from 1927 to 1929. Olivier d’Agay was accompanied by three heroes in aviation.

Bertrand Piccard, Swiss explorer and environmentalist, sponsor of the FASEJ, who codeveloped and copiloted the Solar Impulse plane, on which he completed a world tour. Dorine Bourneton, aviator, sponsor of the FASEJ, the first handicapped woman aerobatics pilot in the world, who had already landed five times in Tarfaya with the Toulouse Saint-Louis Rally, from 1995 to 1999. And finally, Jean-Marc Probst, the world’s greatest collector of ‘‘Le Petit Prince’’ books, who finances new translations with his Foundation.

For this second edition of the Rally, the ‘‘Fondation Antoine de Saint Exupéry pour la Jeunesse’’ gave its backing to a crew of young pilots from the Mermoz Academy, called ‘‘Cape Juby - Sand and Stars’’.

THE G800 MAKES ITS DEBUT IN EUROPE

The latest addition to the fleet of the American aircraft company Gulfstream arrives in Europe. The G800 business jet made its first continental appearance at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), held in Geneva at the end of May, 2023.

This first G800 test aircraft flew from Savannah in Georgia, USA, to Geneva, using a blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from the private stock of the Gulfstream aircraft company. Powered by high-thrust Rolls-Royce Pearl 700 engines, and thanks to wings and winglets designed in-house, the G800 can cover a maximum distance of 14,816 kilometres, making it the world’s longest-range business aircraft, at an average speed of Mach 0.85.

This powerhouse performer also benefits from Gulfstream’s Symmetry Flight Deck, and the industry’s most breakthrough technology for touch screens. The cabin can be designed to create up to four separate living areas, and offers the possibility of transporting up to 19 passengers with a dedicated crew compartment and sleeping facilities for ten passengers.

Finally, the G800 jet boasts a cutting-edge system for 100% fresh air, never recycled, and a plasma-ionization clean air system. Its cabin altitude is the lowest in the industry.