Maillen, Franco-Belgian friendship and microlight regulations!
Sunday 22 July
We left Chambley this morning in perfect comfort and weather conditions. The general mood is good and we set off for Belgium at around 9:30 under a collective flight plan for the border crossing.
The navigation began on a westerly route south of the Etain zone to reach the Meuse and Verdun, with the famous Douaumont ossuary, whose imposing structure in the middle of the woods still marks the tragic memory of the absurdity of the First World War. We covered these battlefields many years ago. Continuing north along the Meuse and its canal, we flew over the town of Stenay and its famous beer museum, which tells us the Belgian border is near. Leaving Sedan to the west, we crossed the border to arrive at the magnificent town of Bouillon with its famous Castle overlooking the Semois. The countryside is beautiful and cheerful, dotted with the scout camps this part of Belgium is fond of.
Continuing north, we reached this little corner of happiness south of Namur, where Jacques Cooremans, owner of the base, welcomed us. It is a country strip beside the farm, surrounded by centuries-old trees that shelter from the heat. This will be the only stage of the day and coach rotations are planned to visit Namur.
We are here for pleasure but also to help our Belgian friends, and in particular the president of the Belgian Federation, Paul Windey, convince the Belgian authorities of the virtues of "French-style microlight" regulations, liberal and responsible, which have allowed sport and leisure aviation to succeed within a controlled framework of safety. It is a concept we should know how to export and of which we can be proud. This is not done only on one stage of the Tour but through all the work done beforehand with the federations and our respective authorities, in the hope that this friendly summer meeting will help convince them and speed things up. The Belgian press was there in large numbers.
A fine friendship!
Sébastien Perrot
Fabrice and Georges at the departure from Chambley
The town of Verdun
The Douaumont ossuary
The Meuse and its canal
On the way to Sedan
The town of Stenay
Bouillon Castle on the Semois just after the border
Southern Belgium dotted with scout camps
A smiling welcome for each machine at Maillen base
The marshals at the side of the runway
In the shade of the trees
On the left Paul Windey, president of the Belgian federation, and on the right Jacques Cooremans, owner of the base
A team of journalists from RTBF (Belgian national television) made a report on Sunday 22 July, when the Tour passed through Maillen:
The 1 pm live broadcast: https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_ulm-la-passion-des-airs?id=2377526
The full report on the 7 pm news: https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_maillen-tour-de-france-des-ulm?id=2377603#
