Haute Voltige

Haute Voltige‘Haute Voltige’ is a French phrase that roughly translates as ‘High Performance Aerobatics’.

I’d never heard of this organization before today, but apparently Haute Voltige was founded by a retired French military pilot who wanted to develop “a niche for sports, technique, art and culture in the world of aviation”.

They sponsor unconventional aerobatic competitions, promote flight simulation, and most interestingly, stage a unique combination of theatre and airshow called Haute Voltige Air Musicals. The HV web site describes these air musicals as “a different air show concept where aircraft are considered as tools for artists, an outdoor Air Theatre where a story is acted out by pilots flying their aircraft to originally composed music, a new Performing Art for the 21st Century”.

As someone who spends a great deal of time in the theatre and in the air, I think it’s a great combination.

You won’t want to miss this video clip (.rm format) from the 2002 World Grand Prix in the Czech Republic. If you follow the international aerobatics scene, you’ll see some familiar faces.

Even if you don’t know one end of an airplane from the other, the video is still worth watching — the cinematography is as impressive as the flying. Check it out.

Update 04/06/05 – a reader clued me in to the fact that the event took place at the Twin Ring Motegi race track in Japan, not in the Czech Republic. The Japanese people in the video might have tipped me off…

Update 05/23/05Lionel Charlet emailed to let me know that he’s the one who created the Motegi video for Haute Voltige. Be sure to check out the other aviation videos Lionel has on his site.

  5 comments for “Haute Voltige

  1. David S. Nelson
    April 5, 2005 at 3:24 pm

    Sounds fabulous but I haven’t been able to see it yet.

  2. James
    April 5, 2005 at 5:44 pm

    That race track in that video is Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. Where did you see that it was in the Czech Republic?

  3. Ron
    April 6, 2005 at 12:00 pm

    The last moments of the video said World Grand Prix and had a date of 2002. There was a WGP event in the Czech Republic in 2002, according to the Haute Voltige web site.

    I see now that there was also one in Japan — oh well, I had a 50/50 shot. 🙂

  4. Stu Rawlinson
    May 21, 2005 at 3:56 am

    Brilliant stuff.Makes me want to go out and do aero’s again.

  5. Jerry Litton
    November 25, 2005 at 11:47 am

    I saw that one in the Czech Republic but I am unable to find it again. Does anyone know where I may find it and others?
    Thanks,
    Jerry

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