Dassault Mirage III A 09 Balzac Montelimar

Le Mirage III A 09 Balzac Montélimar 
English Version.

Article sur le Balzac ICI
 

A plane quite as sophisticated as it is can have exceptional performances only if prototypes are built and tried to test all the future possibilities of the machine
The Mirage does not escape from the rule and if the family of Mirage III. was an exceptional success for the manufacturer and an exceptional mounting for the pilots of the AAF it owes it with a series of prototypes of 10 planes which underwent extremely hard tests
 Often these "mules" finish their career with the state of wreck under the blowtorch of a scrap merchant.
It is not the case for this plane,, which was saved as an abandoned dog  by the SPA (Societe for the  protection of animals ) , by an association of  dynamic volunteers  which succeeded in creating a Museum of Aeronautics at Montélimar in Drome (South of Lyon) on the airfield of Ancone (see the links in this Website  Musées )
The plane which is presented in this walk auround  whose party of a series of 10 prototypes who have allowed the development of what was going to become the Mirage III and which was going to be a frank success with export
You have in front of you one of the 10 prototypes of Mirage III baptized nicknamed Balzac 001  at 010
 This series of Mirage III  was baptized Balzac by the team of track  in Melun Villaroche (near Paris)  in reference to the firm Jean  Mineur Publicité which had the telephone number Balzac 001.

Firm Publicité Jean Mineur

The Mirage III 001 was selected afterwards of multiple trial runs by the French Air Force after trials with the others competitors like Durandal or the Trident.
The choice is concretizes on 9 May  1957 by a first order of 10 Mirage III of pre series followed in September by a second bearing market on 100 similars aircraft
Optimized for  pure interception these planes of this series will become Mirage III C C in French is like FTA Fighter Tactical Aircraft .
10 mirages III A of pré série will use for the development of the equipment and armaments having to equip future mirages III C with the Air Force (AAF).
The  Mirage IIIA09 takes off for the first time of Melun on 19 September 1959 with  Rene Bigard in the cockpit
It was used initially for aerodynamic measurements and it is very quickly employed for tests of armament on the base of Cazaux (near Bordeaux ).
This prototype undergone 2 crashs landings without human loss but with  importants damage   to disturb his exploitation
After being repaired first once the plane carried out a belly landing always in Cazaux
The 20 June 1960 when it erases its landing gear and leaves irrevocable  damage
The Mirage III A09 is summarily repaired in order to continue its ground tests on the base of Istres (near Marseille )
 It is propelled at increasing speeds in the arresting-fences in order to test the  landing sticks for the belgians Mirage 5
In 1969 It’s striped for  registers of the flight test centre (CEV) and is given up has the state of wreck before being discovered and saved by the members of the association of the Museum of Montélimar
It’s joined the collections of the museum of Montélimar in spring 2000
It’s an  historical aircraft  which you have in front of you and in the walk auround . For the Mirage III A  01 click here

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