On Monday, 20 January 2014, the French Air Force Chief of Staff and General of the Air Army Corps, Denis Mercier, welcomed the administrators of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation and the non-profit organisation Les Ailes du Petit Prince to present them with a cheque on behalf of the pilots of French Air Base 113 named “Major Antoine de Saint-Exupéry” in Saint-Dizier. This donation amounting to €4,000 stemmed from the sales of aviation patches bearing the image of The Little Prince and the Rafale fighter jet by the mechanics and pilots of the Rafale Solo Display during air shows in 2013.
The Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Youth Foundation, which has supported the activities of Les Ailes du Petit Prince for the past several years, decided to double this amount in order to offer 80 sick or handicapped children first flights in light aircraft during the next few operations of this organisation, which uses airplanes to bring freedom, happiness and dreams to these children who are deprived of them. Since 1998, more than 1,500 children have been able to fly on board the airplanes of the organisation and its partners.
Photos: © R. Nicolas-Nelson / Air Actualités-SIRPA AIR
