French Air Team Chooses Less-Polluted Side Of Hong Kong For Performance

[hatrack]

HONG KONG — "Roaring boldly through the smog, French air force stunt pilots performed spectacular aerobatic jet maneuvers Wednesday in a goodwill gesture from France that was marred by Hong Kong's filthy skies.

The Alphajet training fighters passed in formation above Victoria Harbor in pollution so bad that much of the skyline was obscured, as it often is. Then they flew to the somewhat cleaner south side of Hong Kong Island for their aerial display.

The eight jets performed loops, fly-bys, and one stunt where they soared up in formation and then scattered in a pattern that resembled fireworks. They shot out trails of smoke in the three colors of the French flag — red, blue and white — but the white was difficult to see in the pollution. Two jets used more smoke to make a heart shape in the sky, drawing applause from dignitaries in a VIP viewing area, even though the pattern was left a bit murky by the haze.

The Patrouille de France pilots got rave reviews from Hong Kongers who watched the show. "It was spectacular, but the one imperfection was that the air pollution was really serious," said Ken Wong, a 46-year-old construction company executive."

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