Eric Gerard started his flying career as a fighter pilot with the French naval aviation where he flew the Super Etendard. In 1991 he joined Dassault Aviation as an experimental test pilot. When not working on air-to-air combat equipments, our cigar-loving pilot flies the Rafale in airshows all around the world. This year Eric Gérard flies the Rafale B two seater at the Paris airshow.
« Most of the time the demos are flown in a tight airspace he explains. Thanks to the power available from the M88 engines, I can easily recover speed and energy after each tight turn. The M88 response is also excellent : stress is high on the engines when you apply the power from idle to full afterburner several times in a row. With the M88, it takes only five seconds to go from idle to afterburner, which is really exceptional ».
In less than seven minutes, the Rafale B has to show all its strength and agility. Without forgetting the exceptional performances of the braking system which adds a final touch to a brilliant display : thanks to its carbon brakes, the Rafale decelerates in less than ten seconds in front of the spectators, whereas the competition still uses the oldfashioned and cumbersome braking parachute system.
« My presentation will be classical for the Rafale but very dynamic » sums up Eric Gérard, who practised his program six times in Istres (southern France) before landing the Rafale at Le Bourget.