It has now been 3 years since VL3 Evolution pilots first had the opportunity to participate in this special aviation event, Raid Mermoz. Let’s wrap up the 2022 event and take a look at the great success of the 3rd edition together.
Why Mermoz? The event is named after Jean Mermoz, the French aviator, who at the age of 35 years disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean. He was viewed as a hero by other pilots, amongst them the legendary Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
This year’s edition began on May 7th at Challes-les-eaux in France and lasted 11 days. The furthest point travelled was in Dakhla, Morocco, over 8000km away. Due to current worldwide situation limiting entry to Senegal and Mauritania, the flight plan had to be slightly adjusted, but that did not stop over 50 pilots of different nationalities from participating in the event.
The group was divided into 7 different formation flights of 2 to 5 aircrafts and had the opportunity to see the Alps, Gibraltar, the Mediterranean sea, the Atlas mountains and the Sahara desert during the 2022 version of Raid Mermoz. “A huge thank you to all participants, my event co-workers, team Orga, airport controllers, two Morrocan ambassadors, and simply everyone who helped to make this unbelievable event happen once again.“ added Olivier Ronveaux, Raid Mermoz coordinator.