Captain Youness Amara
Please, Captain, would you mind introducing yourself and telling us about your aviation background.
I’m Captain Amara and I’m in my seventeenth year of service in the French air force. I joined the air force after my high school graduation to follow my dream to be a pilot. I’m an aviation enthusiast since I was a child. I guess everything started at the age of five or six looking at the sky to see the fighter jets flying near my house. When I was a teenager I began flying gliders and I spent a lot of time drawing military aircraft from different countries. I signed up for the air force as a “contracting officer”, which is one of the two types of pilot careers in the French air force. It is mainly focused on performing pilot duties at the operating squadrons and on becoming an instructor. The first engined aircraft I have flown was the TB-30, during the initial training.
Any favourite aircraft besides the Alphajet you would like to fly?
Every single one if I could! I love airplanes and I’m particularly interested in their story. I’d really like to fly the Spitfire, it’s a beautiful aircraft. It has a great history.
When I was young my dream was to fly the Mirage, which is actually the first fighter jet I’ve flown. To be precise it was the Mirage 2000-5, the single-seat air defence variant. I would say it was my first love. I’ve got beautiful memories of that time.
We guess that, as for the other aerobatic teams, the winter season is mainly dedicated to the training, in particular the training of the new pilots. Let's talk about it: how often does a new pilot join the team? How training is carried out and where?
Well, this is indeed a very huge question but it allows me to talk about my experience in the Patrouille de France which is only at the beginning considering I joined the team last September.
The winter period is dedicated to the training and it is carried out at our home base in Salon de Provence.
Every year 3 new pilots join the team and 3 pilots leave. The selection to be part of the team is not related to technical skills. It’s more about the way you’re able to join the group. It’s about your human relationship skills, your ability to be part of a group and to work as a team.
The first thing you have to do as soon as you join the team is to be a good observer. You have to learn just by watching the older pilots and the whole team performing and try to get as many tips as you can. I followed the team in Dubai at the Expo. I had the opportunity to see their performance and to ask a lot of questions.
The characteristic of the Patrouille de France training is that after the first period of observation in the backseat you begin directly with the solo flight. There is no one flying in the backseat with you. This is part of an initial period of about 3 weeks which is basically aimed to get you familiar with the procedures and to acquire the skills required to fly in the 8-ship formation.
After that, the whole team starts working on the initial part of the display. Now we are halfway through our training programme and that’s all I can tell you so far about my experience.
Are all pilots of PAF coming from the Rafale and Mirage squadrons of the French Air Force?
Yes, they are. One of the requirements to join the team is to be a frontline pilot so they are Rafale or Mirage pilots. I’ve flown both of those aircraft. Thanks to Rafale I had the opportunity to learn about air to ground missions which were something new to me. It has been a very interesting part of my career.
We have seen the PAF performance at the most important international air shows, like the RIAT in England, the AirPower in Austria, and also a couple of times in Italy, just to mention a few. How do you cope with the international schedule?
The Patrouille de France has a very short organisation. The leader, the number 5 and the number 7 are the deciders of the team.
At the beginning of the winter season, they decide about the display features (the manoeuvres and so on). After that, together with the headquarter, they settle the calendar and evaluate if the international schedule is consistent with the training programme.
Obviously, there are choices to do as the number of requests is more than the number of displays we are capable to perform in a season.
Maybe you don't notice it up there, but people are really excited when they see the Patrouille de France performing. How does it feel, as a pilot?
As pilots we are obviously proud of that but, honestly, to be able to perform the task you need to not think about that. From the moment you jump into your jet you really need to get focused on what you are doing at that precise time. You know that there are many people, you know that you’re at an important air show but when it comes to performing the display you must be focused as you are during the training. There is no margin for anything else. I think that’s the right mindset.
You realise it after the show. That’s my feeling for the moment. I haven’t performed at any air shows yet. I’ve only taken part in the flyby over the Quirinale, in Rome (Italy), but that’s exactly how it went. I started the engine, I got focused on my plane and on my position in the formation. After the flyby, when I landed and I saw the pictures, I felt I could be very proud of that and I think that it was something I will remember for a long time.
Let's talk about the future. The Alphajet is ageing and probably it will be replaced by a new french aircraft. In your opinion, as a pilot, how could a new aircraft impact in terms of training required and also on the type of display the team perform?
You can not separate the display from the aircraft the team flies. The Patrouille de France display is based on the Alphajet capabilities. If one day the team should receive a new aircraft the display will probably have to be adapted which requires additional training. That’s what former pilots did when they switched from the Fouga Magister to the Alphajet in 1981.
Each aerobatic team wants to get benefits and tries to get the most out in terms of performance from its aircraft.
Of course, the Alphajet is not a brand new aircraft but it still perfectly matches the tasks it is required to perform.
I guess the scenario of a new aircraft has already been tanking into account by the French Air Staff but it is too early to know that. As an aviation enthusiast, I’m looking forward to knowing what will be the next aircraft.
What will the next season be like for your team after two years of stop due to COVID-19? Are you going to perform only at local events in France or there will be also some events abroad?
It’s too soon to know where we will perform this year since the scheduling is ongoing and we don't have our calendar yet. Usually every year the Patrouille de France displays in France and in other countries as well to give more and more people the opportunity to see our performances.
Next year will be the 70th anniversary of Patrouille de France. Any anticipation you can disclose to us?
If we look into the past we see that the Patrouille the France always celebrated this particular kind of event and the 70th Anniversary could be one of them. When it comes to this particular recurrence a dedicated event is organised and there are a lot of publications on media like articles, videos etc.
Maybe we can start talking about it at the end of this season but at the moment it is too early for us to focus on that.
The recent flyby alongside the Frecce Tricolori over the sky of Rome was something that the aviation enthusiasts were missing and it was really nice to see you! How did your team prepare for that event? How was the planning in terms of difficulties?
The heart of the problem was that the event was coming pretty soon during our winter training period. So the first question was whether the team would have been ready to perform the flyby given that we were at our second or third week of training.
The team leader, together with Athos 5 and 7, decided that an adjustment to our training program would have made that possible. We flew to Italy and we met the Frecce Tricolori. We had the chance to share knowledge and best practise with our Italian colleagues.
It’s not so common to see two aerobatic teams flying together in close formations and on the same line. It requires coordination.
What advice would you have for someone, in particular a young boy/girl who wants to learn to fly?
My advice would be to believe in their dream. There may be a lot of moments during which they might have doubts but they should not allow that to affect their dream.
If you stay focused on the things you always wanted to become true. That’s why they need to trust in themselves, follow their dream and carry on.
Thank you very much for your time Captain. Any final words to our readers?
Keep an eye on the Patrouille de France. We will put our heart into the displays to make every aviation enthusiast happy to see us in the sky in 2022.
